Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Light in Dark ❯ Two ( Chapter 2 )

Author's Note and Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon, Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02, or any of the characters depicted. However, the storyline is completely mine and I do not want to see it replicated without my expressed permission. The characters, as they exist within my storyline, are also mine and I do not want to see them replicated permission as well.

Review Response: This is where I respond to the reviews left by the readers.

M.C. Zarrella: This story owns me. Seriously. Please, please write chapter two quickly before my curiosity kills me. You so do not count. Quiet.

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light IN dark

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Chapter Two

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"LATE! I'm late, I'm late!" The cry resounded off the buildings as he ran. Feet pounded hard against the pavement as he inched ever closer to his destination. Square goggles infested brown spiked hair; from there a head and neck descended down from that mess. Clothes of pale blue were worn, one horizontal white stripe running across his chest; brown shorts clung to those running legs like a desperate commuter trying to grab a train.

Daisuke rounded a street corner and his school came into sight. No one was standing around in front of the gates: that was a bad sign. The bullies and "badasses" of the school always loitered just outside the safety of the school walls. If even they were gone, then he truly was late. Daisuke's shoes squealed in protest as he changed direction suddenly and darted into the schoolyard.

Cement ground gave way to wood as he entered into the facility. He was almost there. The fact that he was nearly at the finish line gave him renewed strength and he seemed to move faster than he did before. The halls were almost completely devoid of any sort of life, save for a few groups of students that still hung out. The final bell hadn't rung yet, he concluded.

He was right. He threw open the door to his class just as the death toll rung. Daisuke mentally cursed his luck and took a step into the room. The teacher was nowhere in sight: maybe he could get away with being tardy. He took a few glances around; his classmates were all busy with one another. Hikari was sitting in her desk talking to another guy Daisuke didn't recognize - wait, what?!

The boy had blonde hair that stuck out from underneath the gray bowl hat sitting on his head. The rest of his clothes were a combination of yellow and green that reminded Daisuke of bananas. He and Hikari seemed to be getting along well - a little too well for Daisuke's tastes. One eyebrow twitched as her unique laughter responded to something he had said.

He opened his mouth to say something, to shout something. A large hand fell on his shoulder and clasped it tightly. Daisuke gulped. He knew what was coming; he turned around to face his teacher. His mind started to race, trying to come up with something to explain why he wasn't seated like everyone else.

"Sensei... I'm not late... I'm just... uh.."

"Late," the deep voice answered. "Detention, Daisuke. You'll be cleaning the computer room today after school."

The class giggled. Daisuke angrily stomped to his seat and sat down. He had tried so hard to get there on time and had (technically) made it if you looked at it from his angle. The blonde boy and Hikari were whispering something to each other with concerned looks on their faces. Hikari was beside Daisuke and the stranger sat on the other side of her.

Daisuke sent angry looks over Hikari's shoulder at her new friend. Death glares only caught the other boy's attention once or twice and resulted in an uncomfortable fidget. Hikari sighed and their conversation wound down. "Do you just want to -"

Daisuke leaned out across his desk and pointed a single finger at the one with the bowl hat.

"I'm onto you!" he said, pinning him with the crime. "I'm onto you, ol' twitchy eyes!"

"What...?" the boy said, confused by this accusation.

"Oi, Daisuke, this is Takaishi Takeru," Hikari said and gestured to him. "Takeru, this is Motomiya Daisuke." They exchanged glances. "Takeru and I have been friends for a long time. He's finally moved back to Odaiba and at just the right time too."

"Old friends, huh?" Daisuke asked suspiciously. "And what do you mean by, 'at just the right time?'" Then he spoke to Takeru: "Listen, buddy, if you think for once second you're gonna just come waltzing in here and -"

Daisuke's speech was interrupted when a chalkboard eraser collided with his forehead; it left a white streak on his face, very reminiscent of a skunk with how the white differed from his darker complexion. The teacher yelled at him to be quiet and to give the projectile back; Daisuke launched it at his head. When the teacher caught it easily, Daisuke sat back in his chair, disappointed.

Time seemed to drag on; the clock ticked slower and slower by the second. Takeru and Hikari were passing notes back and forth to each other. Daisuke strained his neck, trying to catch a glimpse at what they were talking about. His fists were curled, though hidden under his desk. He couldn't believe the nerve of that guy.

Finally the bell signaled freedom. The kids packed up their personal belongings and headed for the door. Takeru gently stepped aside and let Hikari pass through the doorway before he did; Hikari giggled at this display of chivalry. Daisuke, still trying to put his things away, rushed for the door. He was going to show Hikari he could be chivalrous too.

"Hey Hikari! Lemme walk y -"

Daisuke's forward movement ceased when a hand slammed down onto his shoulder. The teacher reminded Daisuke of his detention in the computer room and he dropped his shoulders in defeat. Hikari waved, and Takeru smiled. They disappeared out into the hallway, melting into the crowd like rain into a river.

Grumpily muttering curses, Daisuke headed for the computer room. He lazily tugged along both a mop and a bucket. He slid open the door and kicked the bucket inside, hard, so that it rebounded off the wall and spilt soapy water onto the floor.

"Shit!"

His feet slid out from underneath him. He pin wheeled his arms wildly, trying to keep his balance; but he landed on his back with a loud thud; cold liquid seeped into his clothes.

"Dammit! First I'm late, then that guy makes moves on Hikari, now I got soap all over me! This just isn't my day." He stood up. "Mopping sucks. I gotta find something else to do until I can get out of here and find out what's with that new kid and Hikari."

Daisuke looked at the soapy floor. He grinned. He slowly started backing away, toward the door, and then he ran full throttle towards the puddle. He stopped, but his forward momentum slid him across the room.

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Thunder clashed against the digital sky. Dark rain clouds served as the backdrop. Ryo stood on a balcony, staring out at the dark sands beneath his floating fortress. Ken had returned to the Real World long ago. He'd let him. The signal fires had since been put out and so the Czar planned his next move. Only few pockets of resistance still fought him - those mainly around Primary Village. If only he could take it as his own.

"So, we meet again, Digimon Czar," a voice called from behind him.

Ryo felt a sudden surge of anger. No one should have addressed him while his back was turned - especially if you were the person that spoke to him just then. He faced the intruder; his eyes narrowed into a deadly glare; he kept his hands hidden behind him.

"Ah, if it isn't the worthless former employee of mine? I see you've found a new shell to hide in." Ryo smirked as the tall humanoid.

"Not so worthless anymore, child," he replied, twitching. Most of his body was hidden underneath a light brown cloak, but his face remained visible. The skin was devoid of any healthy color, making the digital code written on his forehead stand out, and long, dark hair disappeared around his shoulders.

Ryo pulled his whip out and snapped it against the humanoid's knee; he collapsed under his own weight, but managed to stay kneeling.

Ryo screamed, "Do not call me that! I am not a child anymore! If you must address me, then you will address me as Master or Digimon Czar!"

"You will always be an insolent little child that came to destroy my plans when I had the other Chosen Children beaten," the humanoid growled a response. He slowly rose to his feet again, standing straight and tall. Ryo gritted his teeth together at this insubordination. He cracked the whip between his former slave's feet.

"So, Millenniumon, what brings you to my humble abode, again? Come to beg for forgiveness for outliving your usefulness to me?" Ryo laughed. "Don't waste your time. I hear they made you Mother at Primary Village. Are you a good mommy, Millenniumon? Do you tuck them into bed at night and whisper them bed time stories? Do you plot their deaths as they sleep? I hear they call you Mille now. How girlish."

"I've come to take from you what you've taken from me." Millenniumon struggled to keep his well-known temper under control. He couldn't fight Ryo - not in this form and not at this time. But he'd have his chance. Oh, he was sure he would have his chance. This was only the first move on the chess board.

"And what's that, Mille? Your power, pride, prestige, or dignity? Shall I go on? I can't keep up with all the things I've taken from you over the years. The list grows too long." Ryo laughed again, cracking the whip randomly. Millenniumon watched the weapon before he slowly shook his head.

"What's yours isn't yours anymore."

Millenniumon raised his arm. His hand slid out from beneath its sleeve; long, clawed fingers pointed at Ryo the Czar's waist. A sphere of blue surrounded something attached to his belt; Ryo gasped as his D-3 flew from its place to Millenniumon's side. Ryo yelled for it to return, calling for it like one did for a lost dog, but Millenniumon's hand closed around it.

"Now it belongs to someone else!" Milenniumon said. He threw the device off of the balcony; it sped out of sight, engulfed in a navy aura.

Ryo screamed and snapped his whip against Millenniumon's body. The Digimon fell to the ground and submitted to the punishment. Ryo didn't let up: he hit him again and again. Millenniumon disappeared at last and the ground instead received the treatment. Ryo kept up the attacks on the metal floor until it was dented.

His arm was exhausted.

* * * * * *

"Taichi and Yamato should be here soon too, Hikari," Takeru said outside.

Daisuke's ears twitched with the alertness of a fox. Hikari said something in reply, but he couldn't make it out. Were they heading this way? He couldn't let her see him mopping the floor like some kind of idiot! He glanced around quickly and spotted the closet in the far corner. He ran for it, careful to avoid his slip-and-slide fun now. He barely managed to get inside when Hikari and Takeru slid open the door.

"Oi, looks like Daisuke was in here cleaning," Hikari said, spotting the mop, bucket, and large spill.

"He's not very good at it, huh. I think he missed a spot - the rest of the room," Takeru laughed, and Hikari shared in it.

Daisuke fumed inside the closet; slits of light allowed him to see out into the room. His hands were clenched tightly at his sides; his knuckles were so white, he could have sworn they were glowing.

"Do you really think it's like Agumon says?" Hikari asked in a hushed voice. Daisuke pressed his ear against one of the slits and strained to listen.

"I don't know... maybe. But how could another kid get into the Digital World without a digivice? Maybe it's Vamdemon in disguise." Takeru shrugged. He pulled out one of the chairs in front of a computer monitor and sat in it; Hikari copied this decision a second later.

"No, that can't be it," she decided.

"Yeah, you're right. That's a stupid idea anyway: thinking of Vamdemon coming back when we know we deleted him enough times during our adventures together." Takeru grinned. "Do you remember the old days, Hikari?"

"How could I forget? They were always so exciting, always something new going on. But one thing never changed, Takeru," she said, wearing a smile Daisuke had never seen before.

"What's that?"

"You were always there to protect me."

What is this talk?! Daisuke's mind raced, confused on which lane its desired destination lied on. That was all in the past! What they were talking about didn't matter. Takeru was overstepping his boundaries by leaps and bounds. He should have gotten the hint during class to back off, and now Daisuke had had enough of it.

Daisuke reached for the handle to free himself from his hiding place, but the computer room's door slid open again, and two more people came in. One was another blonde, but this one Daisuke knew from all of his sister's posters on her wall: those blue eyes belonged to Ishida Yamato the rock star. The other had hair that threatened to eat the world: Yagami Taichi, one of his idols! He even wore a pair of goggles almost like the ones Taichi always had on.

He waited, listening for more of this conversation on instinct. "Alright. Takeru, you have excellent timing. I bet Yamato and Hikari told you what as going on." Takeru nodded to Taichi. "Agumon is still sleeping at home. If there's a kid in the Digital World, then we should be able to get there too and help put a stop to him."

"Let's just hope this works better than most of your other plans, Taichi," Yamato said with a grin. Taichi echoed him with a smirk of his own. Takeru and Hikari laughed a little. "Sorry you had to come back at such a bad time, Takeru."

"I'm just glad to be home and to be able to help, onii-san. It's great to see the old gang back together again."

"Well, we're missing some people. We're all I was able to get together in such a short period of time."

Taichi nodded and then pulled this weird-looking device from his pocket. It looked like a square with the corners cut off, and had a large black button sticking out of the side. Daisuke almost laughed at it.

"Digivices out. Let's go!" The others followed him, retrieving their own.

Taichi shoved his digivice toward the computer screen, but nothing happened. Taichi blinked and tried again; he was rewarded with the same result. Yamato pushed him aside and gave it a try. Nothing. Takeru. Nothing. Hikari. Suddenly a blue light shot from out of the screen. Taichi fell onto his rear in surprise while Yamato ducked. Takeru and Hikari flipped over in their chairs.

The light show diminished and a blue sphere sat hovering by the closet doors. It was almost as if it were waiting for something. Taichi climbed back to his feet quickly, cursed, and picked up the mop; he carefully tried to poke at the floating orb, but he always seemed to just barely miss it. He threw down the mop in frustration.

"What the hell is that thing?"

"A blue ball," Yamato replied.

"Thanks a lot! I could have told you that one!" Taichi yelled.

"Anytime."

"What's it doing?" Takeru asked, puzzled.

"Is it waiting for something?" Hikari stared at it. "I wish we had Koushirou here to tell us what it is. Or Gennai to give us some hint."

Daisuke blinked, blinded by the navy light that blocked out his view of the room. He pushed open the door slightly to make a wider gap and see what was going on again, but the orb zigzagged around the edge of the door and pelted Daisuke in the chest. He fell hard back against the interior wall and accidentally kicked the door open all the way.

"Ow, damn thing!" His hands wrapped around the object now resting on his chest.

"Daisuke? What were you doing in there?" Hikari asked almost accusatorily.

The aura finally died down from around the object. Daisuke made his way to his feet. He examined it to find that it was some sort of oval-shaped machine, blue with white trimmings, and had buttons and hand grips.

"Hey, cool! Does this thing get TV or play video games?" Daisuke pressed at the buttons randomly, trying to find the right combination to bring about the desired effects. Yamato scoffed, and Taichi shook his head. Takeru and Hikari didn't know what to make of the situation. Daisuke looked up from the device. "What's everyone staring at me like that for?"

"How much did you hear?" the big-haired one asked.

"You know this kid, Taichi?" Yamato glanced in his direction. Taichi nodded. "He looks like a miniature you."

"Something about Agumon, kid in Digital World, Takeru is a jerk... uh... yeah, I think that covers it." He nodded. Takeru and Hikari looked at each other, searching in one another's eyes to see if one of them knew what he was talking about on that last statement.

"Daisuke, lemme see that." Taichi caught the tossed blue device after Daisuke arrived to stand with the group. Taichi compared it to his. "Looks like he's got a digivice now."

"Doesn't that make him a Chosen Child?" Takeru asked.

"Yeah," Taichi agreed.

"Great. Two goggle boys." Yamato rolled his eyes.

Taichi shrugged and handed the device back to Daisuke, who went back to playing with the buttons. He was damned determined to find the way to bring up pinball or some other sort of entertainment. What good was it if it couldn't even play video games? The nerve of sending him something so useless!

"Daisuke, point your digivice at the computer screen." Taichi indicated to the machine beside them.

"What, like this?"

Daisuke aimed the front of his new toy at the screen; almost immediately white light engulfed them. They all landed in a dog pile with Daisuke at the bottom, but everyone grunted and groaned for each other to get off.

"Get the hell off!"

"Sorry!"

"Your knee is in my eye!"

"Calm down."

"Daisuke, stop squirming!"
"I can't help it if I'm being crushed by fat people!"

"Who are you calling fat?!"

It took them several seconds to disentangle themselves. Daisuke climbed to his feet, now free of the heavy weight that had held him down.

Taichi's knuckles hit the top of his head. "Don't call me fat!"

Daisuke rubbed at the growing knot in his hair and mouthed something back at Taichi.

The smell of fire assaulted their noses, and then Takeru, Hikari, Taichi, and Yamato were standing still, open-mouthed. Their eyes frantically searched for something familiar. Daisuke's just wandered from black rock to black rock. Was this the Digital World? Scorched earth stood as testament to where a lush forest once stood; but now only a few stumps remained, dotting here and there.

"Where are we?"

"The Digital World, Daisuke… or what's left of it."

"We're near Primary Village. We had better find some answers there."

"How can you tell?" Taichi asked.

Yamato didn't respond and just pointed at the ground. Taichi's eyes followed his finger; they widened in recognition: the patterns running beneath his feet spoke to him about better times, back when he was a little kid and visiting this place for the first time.

They walked in a morbid silence, following the lines towards the single standing tree. They barely knew the world they now lived in. Hadn't it once been their home? Takeru frowned, and it only deepened as they passed by the smashed baskets. This is where Patamon and Elecmon had their battle. Those cradles once held new-born baby Digimon. His mind tried desperately to comprehend what kind of monster would do this.

"Welcome, Chosen Children." A voice greeted them when they arrived at the tree. A figure cloaked in brown was leaning against the tree with arms crossed over his chest; he looked quite smug and proud of himself. Daisuke waved his hand, while the other four watched the stranger closely. "I've been expecting you."

"Who are you?" Taichi demanded, taking a step forward. "Are you the one responsible for all of this!?"

"My name is Millenniumon, and as much as I'd like to take credit, I am not the cause of this destruction. But I've done my fair share, trust me." He wore a menacing smirk after that statement. "I'm the one that sent your Agumon to you. And," he said and he looked at Daisuke, "I sent that device you hold in your hand to you."

"What, this?" Daisuke held up his digivice. Millenniumon nodded. "... Can I call you Mille?" Daisuke added almost as an afterthought.

"No." Millenniumon answered immediately, almost angrily.

"Alright, Mille it is, then!" Daisuke grinned.

"If you're not the one who did all this, then who did?" Takeru asked; his voice reeked of suspicion. He did not trust the guy as far as he could have thrown him. There was just something about him that picked up on his evil radar.

"I thought Agumon would have answered that? Ah, well, don't send a minion to do your own work. I should have learned that lesson by now." Taichi started to shout something, but Mille's voice cut him off. "The Digital World as you know it has ceased to exist. A new evil named the Digimon Czar has taken over. This is the only free sector left, except for maybe one or two others."

Daisuke took several steps to the side, trying to see around Mille and the tree. He blinked at the sight of the little ball-like creatures: they stood in a line, listening to a red rabbit speak. He couldn't make out the words because Elecmon was trying to keep their voices down. He approached them while the others were distracted by Millenniumon's speech.

"Red-on-white, you're alright. White-on-red, you're dead," the chorus of high-pitched squeaks chorused, solving the mystery of what the lesson was. The little poem didn't make any sense to Daisuke; he scratched at the top of his head, confused, but he was finally close enough to hear Elecmon when he started speaking again.

"And what's the difference between the Digimon Czar and Terror Shinigami?"

"The Digimon Czar will enslave you, and the Terror Shinigami will eat you." They sounded bored, as though they had been drilled about this a hundred times. They wanted to go play, not listen to preaches about constant vigilance. A few bounced impatiently. The babies were tired.

Elecmon nodded his approval and dismissed his children to go play. But he watched them carefully, calling out whenever one strayed too far from the pack since there was safety in numbers. He wanted his children to have every bit of a carefree life as was possible in their dark, dim world. Daisuke sneaked back to the other four.

Large bonfires came to life off in the distance. Hikari was half-way through asking Mille a question when they caught her attention. She couldn't keep her eyes off one in particular. It was quite a distance off, but it flickered with a different color than the others: it had a slight purple hue to it. Maybe it was her imagination? That aura passed almost immediately.

"What are those?" she asked.

Another surrounding fire took on the incongruent discoloration. It was far closer than the first, but then the special color disappeared; as soon as it did, the next closest changed. Taichi stood protectively in front and between Hikari and Daisuke; Yamato guarded Takeru. They faced the on-coming threat and Millenniumon became a sullen figure behind them.

"Those? They're the signal fires set up to tell the Digimon Czar if a certain someone is in the Digital World or not. The purple coloring indicates which fire he is closest to. That way the Czar can locate his adversary very quickly," Millenniumon explained and sighed, lovesick. "My beloved is so ingenious."
Taichi and Yamato, as if on an unseen cue, both let one eyebrow rise. Takeru looked over his shoulder at Millenniumon, and then faced forward again. Hikari didn't seem to have even noticed. The traveler finally came into view: a boy with long blue hair pulled back into a ponytail; it swayed gently in the wind. His clothes bore the white-on-red combination.

"Who the fuck are they?" He stopped walking, several feet away from the other Chosen, and pointed a finger at them like a child accusing someone of eating their favorite ice cream.

Daisuke thought he was just pointing at him, but the boy's eyes wandered to each person in front of him - it was as though he were examining everyone.

"They're the Chosen Children, Ken. They're here to help," Mille said.

Ken stared at Yamato and Taichi, and then his gaze drifted over to Takeru and Hikari, but soon it was back to the older two boys and he shook his head. He started walking again, angling to get around them and to where Mille was standing.

"Obsolete," he murmured.

"Who are you calling obsolete?!" Taichi raged, his fists shaking at his sides. He couldn't help himself, couldn't stop himself. He took a step forward and brought his closed hand up to swing a punch, but Yamato grabbed the arm and pulled it down. He said nothing, just shook his head at Taichi.

"You two live too much in each other's world to focus on anyone else." Ken barely glanced at Takeru and Hikari. A faint blush fell across Hikari's face, and Takeru stared at Ken. How could this new boy act like he had known them for years? They had only just met! What right did he have to critique them? "And I don't mean that in a good way, Gilligan."

"Takeru is in Hikari's world? ... Get out of her world, Takeru!" Daisuke yelled.

"Why are THEY here?" Ken demanded to know when he reached Millenniumon. The Guardian growled at being spoken down to like that: bad memories. "They're a waste of my time and energy. You can't possibly expect them to be able to help me. They'll just slow me down! Send them back to the rock they crawled out from under."

"HEY!" Yamato was forced to restrain Taichi again.

"Can't you put a leash on your boyfriend over there?!" Ken snapped, though without sparing them a glance.

This time Taichi was forced to restrain Yamato.

Daisuke found this all to be quite amusing; he barely managed to keep himself from laughing.

Ken shook his head, incensed with the situation since Mille didn't give him a response timely enough. He started back in the direction he had come from. Takeru and Hikari talked with their respected siblings.

Daisuke raced to catch up with Ken before he got too far away; Taichi shouted something at him, but he didn't catch it.

"Oi!"

Ken turned just in time to see the oncoming Daisuke, whose hand clasped over his shoulder when he caught up. A little twitch of Ken's face went unnoticed by the grinning child. Wormmon watched, taking bets with imaginary figures in his head on how long it would be before Ken cut off that said appendage.

"What do you want?" Ken demanded.

"I'm Motomiya Daisuke." Daisuke let his hand fall back to his side. Wormmon snapped two claws irately: he lost the bet to himself. "What's your name?"

"Terror Shinigami," Ken answered and then walked away.

"Ken, huh?" Daisuke grinned and followed him. "And hey, don't worry about that Mille guy. I know what it's like dealing with jerks like him. You know that kid with a bowl on his head? He's making a move on my territory, so I gotta straighten him out right quick."

Ken said nothing.

"We're here to help you, ya know." They were getting quite far from the other Chosen by this time: Primary Village was just a distant image behind them. Daisuke didn't notice. He was only focused on the other person there. "I don't know how, but I know that I'm going to be able to help you if you'd let me."

"You're too much like him." Ken stared at Daisuke, who scratched the top of his head while decoding the too-vague analysis. "And you think you can help me? Well, come walk with me, Motomiya."

They kept moving. Ken took a sharp right turn at a tall set of rocks guarding an entrance that led underground. Torches lit on fire provided the light down a dark tunnel. It ended abruptly, and there sat an flame-emblazoned egg on a mantel with a large scythe-like blade sticking out of its top. Lit candles flickered all around it.

"See that? The monster you want to fight put his own best friend underneath it and left him there for all eternity. This isn't a game you're going to be playing, Daisuke." Ken folded his arms over his chest. Wormmon hopped down and watched from ground-level. "If you can lift that, then I guess you can help me."

"What? This thing?"

Daisuke reached out and lifted the object up quite easily. Both Wormmon and Ken couldn't hide the look of shock on their faces. A blue light flooded out of the hole that the egg covered; the candles blew out, and the candlesticks tumbled from the altar when an azure Digimon appeared on top of it.

"I'M FREE! FREE AT LAST!"

Yellow and red streaks flew from between the lizard's feet; Ken watched them fly out of the cavern, but Daisuke's eyes were preoccupied with the joyful reunion of Veemon and Wormmon. They embraced one another and danced around happily, chanting songs that Daisuke had never heard before.

Ken screamed. The two Digimon's celebrations were interrupted when Ken roughly grabbed Veemon and attempted to shove him back down the hole the egg had covered. This wasn't supposed to happen. It wasn't supposed to be this way! Daisuke was supposed to fail and then go away, leaving Ken to his lonely war. He wanted to see Daisuke's destroyed face - a face of defeat that Ryo had never worn - so everything would be okay again.

"Ken, what are you doing?!" Wormmon cried, and Veemon yelled something in protest.

Daisuke grabbed Ken's shoulders and pulled him away; Ken reluctantly let Veemon go and glared at the other human for daring to touch him for the second time. In the struggle, Daisuke's digivice fell out of his pocket. Veemon stared at it once it hit the ground.

"So... you're my partner, now?" Veemon's gaze turned to Daisuke.

"Yeah, unfortunately," Ken grumbled.

"But what about Ryo?"

"He's still the enemy, Veemon. You know that."

"Yeah... I know." He sounded defeated, but then his voice brightened, although it was a fake cheerfulness. "I'm Veemon! I'm one lucky bug." Wormmon shook his head. "Nice to meet ya!"

Veemon extended a hand and Daisuke shook it.

"I'm Daisuke." He kneeled to be eye-level with Veemon. "I don't know who this Ryo is, but I'll do my best to fill his shoes, Veemon. You've been stuck under there a long time, haven't you?" Veemon nodded, surprised by that insight. "I promise that you'll never be stuck there again."

Again, Veemon nodded solemnly.

Ken watched in silence. He watched the con artist work that magic, weave that wool over Veemon's eyes. But he wouldn't be fooled at least, he silently promised himself. The trickster wouldn't get the better of him. When the fraud was gone, he would explain to Veemon that it was all a sham.

Daisuke stood up again and turned to Ken. "... So what the hell did he mean about being partners?"

"You're partners. You and he are connected now, through that." Ken pointed at the digivice lying on the ground. Daisuke picked it up and looked it over again. He seemed disappointed somehow, as if he were expecting so much more. "You help him, and he helps you. And - what - why are you looking at it like that?"

"So it really doesn't play video games?"

* * * * * *

"Come on! We've got to make it to that television!" Taichi's voice broke the tense air. He was pulling Hikari along by her hand and the other two ran alongside him.

Buzzing wings behind them grew louder and louder: those golden dragonflies were closing on them. Taichi glanced back at the Yamnamon and then ran harder.

"What about Daisuke?!" Hikari asked, stumbling while trying to keep up with her brother. Her breath was heavy from the running - she knew she shouldn't have taken it so easy in P.E. class. Her foot snagged a rock and she tumbled; she let go of Taichi's hand and fell on her face.

"Hikari!" Takeru kicked up a storm of dust as he tried to make the sudden turn back towards her.

The Yamnamon were getting closer. Everyone could feel the wind from those gyrating wings. Taichi and Yamato turned around just in time to see Takeru never make it to her; one of the Yanmamon dive-bombed halfway there and head-butted him away.

"Takeru!" Yamato screamed.

The Yamnamon circled like vultures preparing to descend on their victims. They screeched. Yamato and Taichi stood over their siblings, each ready to fight off what they could even though they knew it would be in vain; but they couldn't just stand by and let it happen. They made a silent promise to one another to go down in flames.

"This is it, Yamato." Taichi grinned.

"Yeah, at least you're going down with me."

"Wouldn't have it any other way."

And then they came:

"FIRE ROCKET!"

Flames engulfed several of the descending Digimon, whose forms relented and broke up into fragments. More fireballs caught the reserves; their ranks broke, and they dispersed. Several came around for a second attack: a tall creature dressed in armor decorated with fire emblems stood as their new target.

"Hey guys! Miss me?" Daisuke ran towards them, grinning.

"DAISUKE! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" Taichi yelled at the top of his lungs.

The insects attacked Flamedramon. He dealt with them easily, dodging a lightning attack here and sending a fireball there. His body erupted into flame and he launched himself into the air, disintegrating some of the Yamnamon as he passed. Yamato, Taichi, and Takeru watched in awe. However, they weren't they the only ones; another watched, hidden in the shadows.

Hikari screamed. One of the attackers had snatched her with its powerful claws and was attempting to haul her off. Taichi grabbed her shoe and pulled against the Digimon - Hikari became the rope in a game of tug-of-war. Her screams reached Daisuke's ears and were amplified as if by a million microphones.

"Hikari! Let go of her!" Daisuke dove.

He tackled the Yamnamon and it tore a piece off of Hikari's shirt, but she was safe. He kept the snapping, growling insect pinned beneath his body. A claw grabbed Daisuke's goggles and pulled; they broke apart, shattering like fragile china. Daisuke watched them fall into the Digimon's mouth.

"My goggles! ... You BASTARD!" Daisuke poked the insect's large eyes and it screamed in pain.

It finally kicked Daisuke off, but didn't have time to celebrate its accomplishment: a fireball engulfed it almost as soon as Daisuke rolled away. He lied on his back, looking up at the digital sky.

The Yamnamon, sourly beaten, ran for it; and Flamedramon took out what he could before they were all gone. After the last fled, his body glowed orange as he was reduced to the size of a small child. He bounced happily, satisfied with the victory.

Hikari climbed to her feet; the little piece of shirt missing revealed more shoulder than the already sleeveless garment had. "Daisuke… that was really brave of you."
"Really?" Daisuke beamed. Then he turned on the now-standing Takeru. "HA! HAHAHA! See, Takeru? I beat you! I saved her from your freaky world!"

"Uh… Daisuke...?" Hikari sighed.

"Come on. Let's get out of here before we get attacked again." Taichi eyed Veemon and then started walking towards the television set again.

Yamato followed; Takeru and Hikari fell in behind him. Veemon and Daisuke brought up the rear; they hummed a triumph tune known only to them - perhaps even their own theme song.

"Guess this means it wasn't our time, Yamato." Taichi grinned again, looking back at him.

"One more day for your hair to try and conquer the world," Yamato replied.

Takeru walked along next to Hikari; they were chatting together quietly. Daisuke was too thrilled at his victory to care at that moment, though he would undoubtedly want to know what they were talking about later.

They stopped in front of the television set that had deposited them in the Digital World. Daisuke pulled his digivice out of his pocket, preparing to send them back to the Real World. He raised his arm and pointed the device at the little monitor; but Taichi's hand fell on Daisuke's wrist, and gently pushed the arm towards the ground.

"Huh?" Daisuke asked, puzzled.

"You're a Chosen Child now. Like us. And if it weren't for you, we would have bitten the dust back there." Taichi nodded in agreement to his own statement. "So I think... a little celebration is in order." The other Chosen looked at him, perturbed. "... Alright, we'll just get out of here. But I want to give you this."

Taichi pulled the round goggles off the top of his head. With great pride and care, he handed them to Daisuke. "Take 'em. You deserve them."

Yamato nodded his approval. Takeru just stared, and Hikari clapped once. Daisuke's nervous hands placed the goggles atop his head. He blinked, trying to look up at the replacements.

"Cute," Hikari declared. Takeru glanced at her.

"Tell me, Daisuke," Yamato said. "What did you and that other guy talk about? Who is he? What happened here? How did you get Veemon?"

Daisuke grumbled at having to take his attention away from his new headwear. "He's Ken. Ryo blew up the world. Veemon got stuck under an egg."

"Where is the rest of our Digimon? How come we haven't seen them yet?" Taichi added in on the interrogation.

"Some of them are hidden by Mille and some of them are out fighting Ryo. He's trying to round them all up," Daisuke said. "But they won't do us any good anyway. Ken explained it to me. You guys can't fight 'cause the Czar blocked evomalution. That's what those big floaty thingies are doing." He pointed upwards toward one of the sky bases.

"Then how did Veemon evolve?" Takeru asked, though his tone indicated it was more of a statement than a question.

"We used the egg."

"So... we are obsolete, like he said." Yamato shook his head.

"This is total crap! We couldn't get a straight answer out of that Mille guy, and here Daisuke is spitting out all this information we SHOULD have been told in the first place!" Taichi's fist pounded the opposing hand. "I say we march right back there and give him a piece of mind!"

"That wouldn't be very much," Yamato responded to Taichi's rant; and the Yagami seemed to calm slightly.

"Oniichan," Hikari finally spoke. "We need to get home… it's dinner time."

"Oh? ... What are we having?"

"Meatloaf."

Taichi was silent for a moment, as though he were weighing his choices on a galactic scale. "Back to Primary Village, then!"

"Oniichaaan."

"Yeah, yeah. We're going, Hikari. Daisuke, if you would be so kind..."

"Huh?" Daisuke blinked.

"... To send us home."

"Oh." Daisuke lifted his arm again and pointed his digivice at the television set; but nothing happened. He shook his hand, rattling the D-3, but still, they were left there. He looked confused; his vision shifted from the device to the set. What was the problem? He couldn't figure it out and looked at Taichi, exasperated.

"Did you break it?" Takeru asked.

"I don't see you with one!"

"... That's because I don't have one."

A feminine laugh attacked their ears. It came from out the TV set. She - the owner of this laughter - tried to stifle it and allow for normal talk, but every time she started speaking, she began laughing again. "I've got you now! ... Iori, get over here! It's working, just like I thought it would. Yeah, bring a stool so you can see too."

"Who the hell is that?" Taichi stared blankly at the dark box.

"Hey! Are you the ones who broke my new toy?!" Daisuke demanded, glaring at it.

"Broke your toy? What the hell are you talking about?" the girl answered. "Never mind. It doesn't matter. You all better start explaining to me what's going on! Iori and I were just coming in here to work on the computers and we saw this one, and a bunch of kids on it, standing around, talking in some dark place. I want answers… especially from that blonde hottie."

Yamato cringed.

"Hey, back off!" Taichi fumed. "You let us out of here right now, or I'm going to kick your ass!"

"You can't do that if you're stuck there!" she responded.

"You really don't want to know what's going on, and we really don't know what's going on either. Please let us out of here, we're hungry," Hikari pleaded with the voice. The answer was a scoff, signaling Hikari's failure.

"You're hungry? Well, it just so happens that I have a bag of food I took from home. And if you give me the answers I'm looking for, I'm sure I could share some of it - but answers first!"

"Hikari is hungry! Gimme it right now!" Daisuke's stomach rumbled in agreement at the mention of food; Takeru gave him a weird look from out of the corner of his eyes. "Veemon, get ready! We're gonna go rescue that food for Hikari!"

"Hey, this is between us girls! We're doing this my way, or no way at all!" the girl said shrilly.

"That means butt out, Daisuke," Takeru clarified.

"Screw you! I'm hungry too!"

"Boys!" Hikari said, agitated.

"Tell me about 'em, " Miyako grumbled. "But I think you at least have some good sense - I'm Inoue Miyako!"

"Yagami Hikari."

"THIS IS NO TIME FOR INTRODUCTIONS. I NEED FOOD."

"I thought Hikari needed the food?"

"Quiet, Takeru." Daisuke glared at him.

"Miyako-san, let me speak," a new voice said - one more calm and compassionate than the previous speaker's. "Now, if we're to let you out, and feed you, do you agree to give us the answers as part of the deal? That's pretty fair and not asking for too much."

"I didn't want to give them my sushi rolls!" Miyako whispered furiously.

"You have to give something to gain something," the new voice said back.

"We don't want to get you two involved in this. And trust me: you don't want to be involved," Takeru said, trying to reason with them.

"I'll be the judge of that!" Miyako quickly replied.

"Maybe we should listen..." Iori sounded unsure when compared to Miyako's confident tone.

"Hah! I want to hear all of these sordid details. Do you guys promise to tell us for the food?"

"YES!" They all cried at once, submitting.

"Reeeealllly promise?"

"YES!"

"I mean, willing to trade your soul promise?"
"YES!" Daisuke yelled alone. "... Wait, what?"

"Miyako..." Iori interrupted Miyako's maniacal laughter.

"Alright, alright. Come on through, then."

Daisuke pointed his digivice at the set again. Nothing happened for a moment and he felt cheated, as though he had been tricked by the woman on the other side of the tunnel, but then a white light engulfed him and he had to close his eyes against it. When he opened them again, he was face-down on the hard wooden floor of the computer room; however, he ended up on the top of the doggy pile this time.

Groans and shouts were sent his way before he even had time to spot their former captors. A tiny weight sat buried in Daisuke's messy hair, but his large brown eyes locked onto a bag sitting on a desk across from him. It smelt good. Was this the food that they had been haggling over moments ago?

"FOOD!" Daisuke declared it was so, and scrambled from his place on top of the odd structure of human bodies. Chibimon held onto Daisuke's goggles for dear life, squeaking with the sudden movements; when the roller coaster ride stopped, he hopped down onto the smooth surface of the table. He watched as Daisuke mercilessly ripped open the bag and started devouring the delicious insides. The boy passed Chibimon an item, and the Digimon poked at it suspiciously.

Daisuke nodded to his partner, and the game was on: the race to see who could eat the most food in the shortest amount of time. It was an odd competition, wordlessly inspired, even though the ones standing behind them were protesting. Someone screamed at them to stop, but he and Chibimon were lost inside their little contest.

Their fun ended abruptly from a sharp kick to the back of Daisuke's leg and a smack to the back of his head. He swallowed and turned to see the many faces glaring at him. Two in particular were closer than the others. There Miyako stood, shaking a fist at Daisuke, and Taichi was next to her, mimicking the movement.

"Daisuke!"

"You ate it all!"

"Nu-uh!" Daisuke picked up a crumb and flicked it in Miyako's general direction. She growled and rubbed her temples in an effort to calm herself down. Getting angry wasn't going to get anything done - not at this moment, anyway. There would be plenty of opportunities to exact her revenge on this boy for eating all of the food and not even bothering to share, or even ask permission. It was her food, after all. He was almost as bad as her siblings.

"Now... tell me what the hell is going on."

"Food?" Daisuke asked hopefully.

"YOU ALREADY ATE THE BAG!" More than one voice joined in with Miyako's cry.

"Hmph."

"Oh, that's it. IORI! GRAB 'EM!"

"Miyako..." Iori shook his head slowly.

Takeru sighed, "A deal is a deal." He took a deep breath. These two were in for a world of surprise. "If Daisuke doesn't want to reiterate, then I will; there's this place called -"

"WAIT. TAKERU CAN'T TELL THE STORY; HE WON'T TELL IT RIGHT," Daisuke's shouting interrupted.

Takeru glared at him for only a split-second before he shrugged and fell silent. He found a chair to sit in and propped his legs up on another, and then waited for the new goggle boy's story.

"So you tell it!" Hikari sounded irate and so moved into a seat next to Takeru.

Yamato and Taichi quietly sneaked out together. They only waved to their respective siblings before disappearing down the dark hall.

"Okay!" Daisuke grinned, oblivious to her signals. "So, anyway, there's this place called the Digital World and lotsa little monsters live in it. Like Chibimon!" He pointed to the little Digimon, half-buried in a bag of chips while licking at the bottom. "But something bad is going on over there, 'cause this guy, Ken, told me that this other guy, Ryo, is trying to, like, take over everything. So I get to go there and stop him. It's like an adventure, with Digimon!"

"Wow... I really want to go! That sounds sooooooooooooooo cool." Miyako clasped her hands together in front of her chest. She looked longingly at the computer they had come out of a few minutes ago.

"Hah, you're kidding, right? It's sooo dangerous. And you need one of these -" Daisuke pulled his digivice out; he held it out for her to see, shining with pride at being the only one to have that model. "- to be able to get by, anyway! And I don't see you with one, so hah."

"Oh, you mean this thing?"

Miyako retrieved an almost identical device to Daisuke's, though hers was trimmed with red and white rather than his blue and white. His mouth fell open at this revelation: he thought that he was the only one, that he was so special.

"Yes, I have one as well." Iori produced his.

Daisuke's eyes darted from Miyako's to Iori's; the confusion wrote broadly across his face. He noticed that the latter's was yellow. Why did they have them too? He shook his head and closed his eyes, trying to will the images away, but when he opened them again, Miyako was still gloating.

"I guess that means I can go, huh?" She smiled.

"Uh… no." Daisuke put a damper on her hopes.

"WHAT? Why?!"

"Because... uh… you… just can't!"

"Okay, you want to play it that way? I just so happen to be the Computer Club president! And if you don't let me go, I'll ban you from the computer room forever!" Miyako grinned mischievously. This'll fix him, she thought. Why did she need his permission in the first place? If what he said was true, all she needed to go was the device in her hand and a computer.

"Miyako, one. Daisuke, zero."

"Shut up, Takeru!" Daisuke was more annoyed by how Hikari giggled after that witticism.

"Miyako! You said you wouldn't ... all of this sounds so serious," Iori added in.

"Well… uh... fine! But I'm sure you don't have a Digimon, so it's still up to me to do the important stuff!! Come on, Chibimon!" Daisuke snatched up the little Digimon still inside the little bag of chips and stormed out of the room. Miyako threw her hands up in victory, and Iori just shook his head at her. Takeru and Hikari laughed.

* * * *

"You! Did you make a deal with them too?" Ken shouted angrily. His entire body shook with fury as he stood pointing a single finger at a hidden figure cloaked by the cave's darkness. Wormmon cowered at his feet, staying as far away from the entrance without leaving his side, but tried to keep a watchful eye out for any creature that might approach from behind.

"I made no such deal," the deep voice responded.

The sounds of a beach echoed out the mouth of the cave. Red eyes were the only indications that Ken had to know whether anyone was in there. The way those crimson specks never blinked was a bit unnerving for him.

"Then why are there here? Why?" When he received no answer quickly enough, he went on, "I've been fighting this war for years. On my own, alone, with only Wormmon by my side! Where were they when I needed them? Where were they when all of this could of been prevented? Not here, no. They were at home, safe in their beds, cuddling their teddy bears like innocent little children.

"They got their 'I love you's and were tucked into bed each night with a little bed time story or song as they drifted off to sleep. They didn't constantly get asked, 'Why can't you be more like Osamu?' or told how perfect their brother was and then how worthless they were. They didn't spend night after night fighting for their very lives because of their failure in protecting a friend!

"They didn't have to deal with Osamu. They didn't have to deal with Ryo. They got to go outside and play. I was fighting a war at home, at school, in another world. It's not fair! They dare come to help me NOW - when everything is practically lost and all of my efforts are moot? That boy, that Daisuke boy - he just showed up and fought better than I ever have! So you tell me: why now? How?"

"Maybe if you had tried harder, all of this would've been prevented," the voice said with a snort.

Ken had never felt so enraged before. Nothing had ever been said to him, not by Ryo, not by Osamu, not by anyone, that made him feel this way.

"Tried harder? TRIED HARDER? You know as well as I do that I've tried my hardest - I've even surpassed all original limitations with my efforts! You have no reason - no RIGHT - to try to tell me that I should have tried harder. Why don't you come out here and fight for me, then? Why don't you give this a shot? Let's see how you handle things; let's see how you manage my shameless excuse for a life!"

"I'm sure you'd rather like to give up now, right? Hm? Obviously these new players can handle Ryo; there's no need for you to even bother juggling all that you have anymore …" The voice trailed off, chuckling, and then marveled at the genius behind the original forfeiture clause in Ken's contract. Ah, the glories of a win-win situation! Freedom was so close.

"… No."

And Ken walked off.

* * * * * *

"Why did you watch them so closely?"

"They're invaders in my realm," the Czar spoke as monitors in front of his throne blinked to life. They showed images of the Chosen Children, who had been under surveillance from the moment he had been informed of their existence.

The throbbing pain in his head had grown worse since they arrived.

"I think you're scared of them." Laughter.

"Thinking was never your strong point, BOY!" he growled. His chair was bathed in the only light in the room, generated by one of the screens.

That new boy, the one with Veemon, had fought off that swarm of Yamnamon easily - almost too easily. Why had Ken helped him? That mystery had confounded him since the newcomers returned to the real world.

"Then why were you shaking so hard when you saw that kid with Veemon?"

"It disturbed me on how low that insect sunk." The Czar's fists tightened on his armrests. He didn't want to have this conversation.

Especially not with him! He was always there as the one voice the Czar couldn't bring under his command or at least quiet. He had been awfully quiet the last couple days, but it seemed he had found renewed strength.

"I thought Wormmon was the insect? Tsk, tsk, Czar. I guess you're not so smart after all." Sarcasm.

"How dare you mock me!"

The Czar leapt to his feet; his hand fell to the coiled bullwhip at his side. He'd teach that insolent voice a lesson: the Czar was not one to be toyed with. But the Czar just grumbled and sat back down, gripping his armrests until his knuckles matched the color of paper. Although it was hard to admit, the Czar couldn't conquer that little piece of the old Akiyama Ryo that still rebelled every so often.

"What were you going to do? Whip me into submission?" Laughter.

"Quit talking to me. I have work to do."

Pain, tremendous pain, flooded his head. He couldn't think, he couldn't see - it was as though he were blind. He screamed but the sound failed to reach his ears. His hands flew to his head where fingernails dug deep into the skin. Trickles of blood dripped from the scratches even though he didn't feel them.

Images flashed on the backs of his eyelids: home, Ken, the Digital World, his rule, Millenniumon, the new arrivals, his lost Digivice. It was all out of order. Strange voices howled in his mind until they intermingled and became nothing but noise. His own voice demanded silence - for things to be orderly again. It was ignored.

It was Mille's fault! If he still had what rightfully belonged to him, but now rested in the hands of that false Chosen Child, this wouldn't be a problem. That fool had taken it from him and given it to another. The indignity of it all! Order must be restored; it was the single thing that he could operate with. Those infidels must be destroyed.

"STOP YELLING... HELP

MAKE IT STOP!"

The Czar's headache subsided back to its usual level. He stopped screaming and then opened his eyes. He was curled in a ball hidden behind his throne. Standing quickly, he glared out into the darkness of his control room. A hand lifted to his face and felt the tears that had fallen from his eyes; they had blended with the blood that still seeped from his temples. Bloody tears.

"Don't ever do that again."

The shadow of his former self didn't respond.

* * * * * *

* * * * * *

EDITED BY:

M.C. Zarrella.