Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Return of the Kaiser ❯ Found at Last ( Chapter 11 )

Disclaimer: Look at chapters one through nine if you want to see it.

Kagome: All right, people. Chapter eleven is up and ready to be read. *glances at muses, who are curled up together in corner (kawaii!)* And I'm not going to do an introduction or conclusion to this. It's late, and my poor muses are tired.

Chapter Eleven: Found at last

It was noon on Saturday, and all the Digidestined, with the exception of Daisuke and Yamato, were gathered together, from both generations. Ken and Taichi had explained everything that had happened to them the day before, including the questions that had been raised.

Now everyone sat or laid down in the Kaiser's throne room, puzzling over the new information. Jyou had already checked their wounds for infection, and Koushiro had checked the brands set in their skin, trying to discover something of significance for them to work with.

Out of ideas and energy, the Chosen children fell silent, more questions having been raised than answered. They still couldn't figure out what was wrong with Daisuke.

Upon hearing a commotion down the hallway, they looked up as Yamato came crashing through the door to the control room, two digimon guards trying to wrestle him back out of the base. Yamato was struggling, and looked wildly at the other Chosen. "I have information that may help you," he stated.

Feeling his spirits lift, the Kaiser ordered the two guards to let the blonde boy enter and to resume their posts. Yamato wandered into the room and sat down, touching Ken's hand lightly. Once the contact had been made, both boys felt a slight tingling sensation dance over their hands where they met.

Frowning in confusion, Ken looked at the older boy, who just smiled at him and said, "There are advantages to you being the Kaiser. Your power is stronger when you're the Kaiser, and by touching you, I am able to break the effects of this dark ring around my throat for a while. Once the connection is broken, the dark ring will take over again."

Amazed, the others pressed forward, demanding that Yama tell them how he knew it would work. The bishounen just shrugged and stated that he hadn't until he tried, but he figured there must be some reason that the Darkness had recommended that he become the Kaiser again. The others just blinked at him, absorbing this new information.

Surprisingly, it was Taichi who brought the conversation back around. "All right, that may be an advantage, albeit a temporary one, but what else does being Kaiser do? And what's the significance of these marks?"

Yamato looked over at him and grinned. "So he did brand you two. I was wondering if he'd be able to or not." Suddenly, all eyes were on him and he shifted uncomfortably. "Umm………I suppose you want to know what that does, huh?" he asked nervously. The others just continued to stare, and he sighed.

"The brand is marked with his crest so that you can help him," he began. "Daisuke is not the one who hurt you. He is not truly there anymore. The real Daisuke has been sent somewhere else in the Digital World, and the enemy is using his body to control the Digital World. He marked you two because that's the first step needed for you to help him."

"The reason you two are the only ones who can help him is because you are the only two with enough power to do so. By branding you, he has made a link with you. When he is nearby-the true him, not that shell that remains in the base-the scars will start tingling. When you get close enough, they'll burn, and you'll be able to locate him, no matter what form he's trapped in at the time."

"He wanted to mark you in a different way, but was unable to because he no longer has control over his body, so he used the parasite's own twisted nature to trick him into marking you by making sure that it caused a great deal of pain, and that it burned."

Sighing again, Yamato paused, being sure to keep his hand in contact with the Kaiser's as the rest of the group tried to absorb this new information. "So what you're saying is that another being has taken over his body, and his………soul, or whatever, has been sent to anther part of the Digital World, but he can still connect with his body?" Koushiro asked. Yamato nodded.

"Well, then, that makes things easier," proclaimed Takeru, grinning. "All we have to do is let Ken and Taichi cover the Digital World and wait for their marks to tell us where the real Daisuke is, then we have to get him back into his own body again."

Iori shook his head. "I don't think it's going to be that easy," he protested. "After all, the Digital World is a huge place. It could take us a very long time to locate him."

"Not really," said Yamato. The others looked over at him in surprise as he continued, "When I was ringed, it was Daisuke who did it. This ring acts like those scars but with less precision. I can tell you the general area he's in and give you a 200 mile radius, but I can't locate him with any exactness. All I know for sure is that he won't be in a controlled area, either."

The others just nodded and decided to split into two groups, one group going with Taichi and the other with the Kaiser. Yamato gave them a rough location, out in the middle of a forest region, and they headed for it.

It took them almost five hours of sweeping the entire area for a two hundred mile radius before Ken's scar started to throb and tingle. Locating which the direction Daisuke was at, he e-mailed the others and headed for it, moving swiftly now that he had a target.

Half an hour later, both boys' scars were burning, informing them that Daisuke had to be nearby. They were in the middle of a clearing, at the center of which rested a small copse of weeping willows. Heading for it, Ken swept the branches aside and stopped dead at the sight that met him.

He had found Daisuke, but not at all as he had expected. What he saw was a small alimon curled up against the bark of the largest tree. The small unicorn digimon was a solid ebony, with a translucent golden horn and golden hooves. Its mane and tail was a myriad of colors, from blacks to blues to hues of purple and violet. It was nothing short of stunning.

The alimon appeared to sense the intruder and slowly opened its eyes. Ken gasped as he noticed that the digimon's eyes were a rich, warm chocolate brown-Daisuke's eyes. Yawning, Daisuke stretched and uncurled himself from his position, quickly bounding up to the violet-eyed boy and letting himself be hugged as the others entered the secluded area.

After they had all realized just who this digimon was, and participated in a very happy reunion, they sat down to figure out what to do next. According to Daisuke, they couldn't just transfer him back to his body. This, apparently, was another situation for the Kaiser to handle.

"It's like this. `Daisuke'-the other one-doesn't consider anyone else to be worth his time, and will simply laugh at any challenges made in his direction. However, if he receives a challenge from another ruler, he will respect that and answer the call for battle. The reason the Kaiser got a companion is that while the fight's occurring, the Kaiser's consort can put me back in my body, thereby ending the threat to the Digital World."

"Uh huh," remarked Taichi wryly, "and just how am I supposed to accomplish that?" Daisuke just sighed and looked at him. "I have to connect to him the same way I connected to you two."

At this, everybody's eyes widened. "You mean that we have to brand you-well, the evil being in your body-with that design of the combined crests of courage and friendship?" Miyako cried. Daisuke just nodded in affirmation.

"All right, how do you recommend we do that without making him suspicious," inquired the Kaiser, watching his best friend carefully. "Simple," he shrugged. "Make the battle in the torture chamber." The others blinked at him, mouths agape.

"What?!" he asked, irritated. "You can stage it in your own torture chamber if you'd like. It doesn't really matter, and he doesn't care." Ken was the one who pointed out, "Why would we fight a battle in a torture chamber if there's not going to be any torturing?"

Daisuke sighed and glanced over at his lover, who nodded and picked up the conversation. "Simple, really. You just make me the prize. Whoever wins gets me." The others frowned and opened their mouths to protest.

The blonde held up his hand and continued, "He can't have me because Daisuke controls me, and I'm not in too much danger because once Dai-chan has his body back, I'll be set free. It's not all that bad."

The others still objected, but finally Yamato and Daisuke won, and Ken agreed to send the enemy a challenge, fought out in his torture chamber, with Yamato as the prize. After this, everyone dispersed, the Kaiser, his consort, and his best friend heading back for his base, the rest heading for home.

Kagome: All right. I know, I'm rushing things a bit now, but I really can't help it. I'm much better with short stories, I always have been, always will be. Anyhow, since my muses are still sleeping, I'll just close this up now. Review, please.