Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Someone to Forgive Me ❯ Redemption ( Chapter 2 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Tailmon, 2nd Guardian of Love 
Anime/Manga: Digimon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Angst / Adventure / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 04.24.2002 | Updated On: 08.23.2002 | Pages: 6 | Words: 4.1K | Visits: 279 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Digimon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Angst / Adventure / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 04.24.2002 | Updated On: 08.23.2002 | Pages: 6 | Words: 4.1K | Visits: 279 | Status: Completed
Disclaimer: What, you really think I own this?
Someone to Forgive Me
"That jerk..." Miyako muttered. "He destroyed so much, and killed so many people! I've never seen so much destruction."
"I guess..." Daisuke said. "I wonder, though...What do you think he's doing right now?"
"Maybe he's only pretending to have changed?" Hikari wondered.
"If he HAS changed, don't you think he'd be helping us repair all this damage?" Hawkmon asked.
"I don't think he'll ever come back to the Digital World," Miyako answered her partner. "I don't think after everything he did, that the digimon would ever forgive him."
*This digimon has,* Tailmon thought as she held up a board of wood so Daisuke could hammer it into place. *All of you are wrong. He HAS changed; I've seen it with my own eyes.* She laughed inwardly. *I never thought I'd make friends with the Digimon Kaiser. It's funny how these things work out...*
"You're right," Iori said, scowling. "I can't forgive him either. Not EVER!"
***
"Hey, look at that!" Daisuke shouted, pointing toward the field outside of town. "Those three digimon are fighting! Do you think we should stop them?"
"That digimon looks awfully like Armadimon," Miyako said. "I wonder if that's his Adult form?"
Takeru nodded. "Probably. Come on, everyone; let's help them out!"
Iori turned to his friends as they came rushing up. "That digimon just attacked Armadimon and me for no reason!"
"That's odd," Miyako replied. "Sure doesn't look like he's wearing an Evil Ring or Evil Spiral..."
Ankylomon was trying to avoid the attacks of the smaller digimon while an insect digimon with dark green armor seemed to be trying to help him.
"I wonder who that is," Hawkmon wondered, turning his gaze to the battle.
"Iori, watch out!" Hikari called out.
The younger boy was pulled into the air by the wind caused by the two digimon fighting in the sky. The insect digimon noticed and caught Iori in his arms, then set him on the ground next to his friends.
Iori stared after him as he returned to the battle. "I wonder who he is...I've never seen a digimon like him before."
"All of you, look over there!" Daisuke exclaimed, pointing at the boy standing on the roof of the low building.
"What's Ken doing in this world?" Takeru muttered. "I thought he wasn't going to come back here."
The Chosen stared as the insect digimon landed behind the former Kaiser and devolved into a familiar Child digimon.
*That's Wormmon,* Tailmon thought. *Good to see them working together.*
"I didn't know Wormmon had hatched again," Hikari said. "Let alone discovered how to evolve."
They watched as their former enemy left, Wormmon following him.
"I need to use the woods," Tailmon said. "I'll be back in a while."
***
Tailmon emerged from the undergrowth into the clearing where Ken and Wormmon were resting. "Are the two of you all right?" she asked.
"I've been better," Wormmon said. His antenna drooped. "I couldn't stop that woman from getting away, Ken."
"What woman?" Tailmon asked.
"There's been a strange woman hanging around the Dark Towers," Ken replied. "She can turn them into things that look and fight like digimon, but aren't really digimon."
"Well...that's definitely odd," Tailmon muttered. "Well, don't worry, Wormmon. I'm sure you'll get another chance at her."
The green caterpillar nodded, a look of determination entering his blue eyes. "And I won't fail you next time, Ken."
***
"You know what I think, Hikari?"
The brown-haired girl turned her gaze toward Daisuke questioningly. "What?"
"I think maybe Ken might not be such a bad guy, after all. I mean, he did help us out last time, you know?"
"He'll have to prove himself to us first. He's done some awfully horrible things."
***
"Hey, Iori, you know...I was thinking about Ken."
"Why?"
"Well, you know, I think he might be a Chosen Child. He's got a partner and a digivice and everything."
"So?"
"Well, I'm thinking of asking him to join our..."
"I don't think so, Daisuke."
"Hey, it was just an idea. You don't have to be so rude about it."
***
"You know what? Ken really has changed. He's not the Digimon Kaiser anymore."
"I don't know," Miyako said uncertainly. "I thought he changed, too. Especially after Wormmon died. It seemed as if he finally figured out that digimon were real people. But after that battle in the Digital World, I don't know what to think. He seemed an awful lot like the Kaiser. The way he just ordered Stingmon to kill that digimon...I'm sorry, Daisuke. I just don't think we can trust him, after all."
"Man, nobody ever believes me! I guess I just need to do this on my own."
***
"Hey, Ken!" Daisuke called out as he came running up.
Tailmon quickly ducked under a bush before the red-haired boy caught sight of her. She had been hoping to just have a quiet picnic with her newfound friends...but it looked like that wasn't going to happen.
"What are you doing all the way out here?" Ken asked, standing up and brushing the sand off his pants. "Are you just going to tell how awful I've been, like your other friends?"
Daisuke shook his head. "Not me. Sure, you've done some pretty terrible stuff, but you're not like that anymore!"
"You're the last person I'd expect to forgive me. Especially after what I did to you in the desert."
Daisuke laughed nervously. "Oh, that..."
Tailmon's forehead wrinkled in confusion. *What happened in the desert? And why didn't Daisuke tell any of us about it?*
"Look, I've got an idea. Why don't you and Wormmon come back with me? I'll introduce you guys to my friends, and you can tell them you're sorry!"
"It's not that easy, Daisuke," Ken replied. "I'm not ready to face them yet. And I don't think they're ready to stop hating me."
"Hey, they don't hate you; they just don't understand you! I know you're sorry for what you did, but they don't."
"What makes you so special?"
"I never said I was special! I just think you're better then you give yourself credit for!"
"I wouldn't be too sure."
"We could really use your help, you know. Some really weird stuff has been happening in the Digital World."
"Daisuke...I appreciate you being honest with me and all...but it's just not that easy. I can't join you."
"What do you mean, you can't join us? Why not?"
"I just can't. I'm sorry." Ken turned and started walking away from Daisuke.
Wormmon glanced between the two boys, then turned and began following his partner.
"Hey, where are you going? Come on, we could be your friends! Don't turn your back on us, Ken!"
Tailmon kept to the shadows as she crept after the human, in order to keep out of Daisuke's sight. *It's past time that the others forgave him and let the past die. I just hope he can find a way to forgive himself.*
***
"You can do it!" Ken called. "Now! Get him!"
"Spiking Finish!" Stingmon called out. The lance mounted on his forearm glowed with a fuchsia energy and extended as he lunged forward.
"Cat Punch!" Tailmon shouted. She leaped up from the ground, driving her fist into the false Snimon's face.
It snarled and swung at her with the blades on the ends of its arms. She easily somersaulted out of the way, landing on her feet. She stared at the monster's face, her eyes glowing bright red. "Cat's Eye Hypnotism!"
The false Snimon froze in place, giving Stingmon the opportunity to destroy it with another Spiking Finish.
"We did it, Ken!" Wormmon said happily as he rejoined his partner.
"Yeah, the three of us make a great team, don't we?" Tailmon replied. "Unfortunately, I don't think we've seen the last of that woman."
"I'm starting to think that maybe Daisuke's right," Ken said. "Maybe Wormmon and I SHOULD join your team after all, Tailmon. I don't think the three of us can do this alone."
***
"How can we stop him without hurting him?" Miyako exclaimed, watching in horror as Golemon punched another hole in the dam.
"I don't think we have much of a choice anymore," Daisuke said.
Miyako's face paled. "You're not SERIOUS!"
Daisuke ignored her. "We're going to have to kill him."
"Are you INSANE? He's a living creature, Daisuke! We'll just have to think of some other way to stop him!"
"I don't think there IS a better way."
"Let's at least try to keep protecting the dam."
"Look, Miyako, the longer we fight him, the more time he has to destroy the dam. If we don't stop him, hundreds of people are going to die! We haven't got much choice!"
"If we kill Golemon, we won't be any better then Ken and Stingmon! We really need to find a way to stop him without hurting him!"
Tailmon growled in annoyance. "Miyako, would you really let hundreds of people just so you won't have this thing's blood on your hands? Ken did what he did to save lives, which is what we're going to have to do now!"
"Why do Daisuke and Tailmon always take Ken's side, even after they saw what he had Stingmon do? How can they POSSIBLY think Ken has changed?" Miyako exclaimed.
"He's going to break the dam!" XV-mon called out. "Make up your minds; something has to be done!"
Golemon snarled as a green blur dropped from the sky and grabbed his arm to prevent the blow from landing.
"All right! I KNEW they'd come to help us out!" Daisuke shouted.
"There's something all of you have to know!" Palmon pointed in Golemon's direction. "That thing isn't a digimon!"
"...What?" Takeru asked in confusion.
"There's a woman. I'm not sure if she's a human or a digimon...but she has the ability to cast spells on the Dark Towers and transform them into things that look like digimon, but aren't!"
"That last digimon we fought must have been a reshaped Dark Tower...and I bet Ken and Stingmon figured that out!" Daisuke realized. "And that's the real reason why Stingmon destroyed it!"
Meanwhile, Tailmon had joined Stingmon on top of the dam. "Let's show this rockhead what we can do!"
The other Adult digimon attacked from below, their power spiraling together into a single beam of raw energy that slammed into the false digimon.
They stared in shock as Golemon's skin dissolved, revealing the reshaped Dark Tower material beneath. Then it dissolved.
***
"I won't make any excuses for the things I've done...but I AM sorry."
"Thanks for helping us out back there," Daisuke said. "Without your help, who knows what would have happened?"
"It was the least I could do after all the trouble I caused you. I want you to know that Wormmon and I have NOTHING to do with that woman. She's found a way to change the Dark Towers into false digimon through some sort of dark magic."
"If you knew about all this, why didn't you say something?" Hikari asked.
"We created the problem, so we wanted to fix it ourselves," Wormmon replied.
"And I wasn't sure if you would believe us," Ken said.
"Well, I would have, but the rest would've taken some convincing. But we can start over now. Why don't you join us?" Daisuke said.
"I'm sorry, but I'm just not ready yet."
"Hey, at least think it over! We could really use your help!" Daisuke called after him.
***
Tailmon hissed, her fur standing on end. "Don't touch that, Ken."
"It's pure evil. And...I built it. But I can't understand how Arachnimon can use them for her own purposes."
"You'll be able to figure it out," Wormmon said.
"Thanks, Wormmon. I'm glad someone still has faith in me."
"But the important thing is to have faith in yourself," Tailmon reminded him.
"I built these things...I should have some idea of how they work...but I don't. The Kaiser would have known...but I'm not that person anymore."
"That's a relief," Wormmon said.
"Just looking at them makes me sick to my stomach."
"Put your head between your knees and take a deep breath," Tailmon ordered. After she was sure her friend would be all right, she continued. "If you don't understand how to turn them off, then Stingmon and I will just have to destroy them all."
***
"You again!" Ken exclaimed, his eyes narrowing.
"I see you've made friends with one of the Chosen Children's pets," Arachnimon said from the computer screen.
Tailmon snarled wordlessly at her, extending her claws warningly.
"Oh, did I come at a bad time? I'll leave you and your pets alone then, Kaiser."
"No, wait!" Ken protested, glaring at her.
"Why should I? Your friend is very rude."
"Of course she is, because you won't leave us alone! What do you want?" Ken demanded.
"What makes you think I want anything from you?" she asked.
"Then WHY are you bothering us?" Tailmon hissed.
Arachnimon laughed. "Curiosity killed the cat. It's none of your business. Or yours, Kaiser."
"Of course it's my business-you're using the Dark Towers that I built! My creations...my shame."
"You think rather well of yourself, don't you, Kaiser?"
Ken looked down, while Wormmon leaned against him.
Tailmon's fur bristled, her ears flattening. "You USED him!" she hissed in realization.
"Of course I did! Amazing that you were able to figure it out so quickly."
She snarled in rage. "No one hurts one of my friends like that and gets away with it!"
"How amusing...one of the Chosen pets defending their defeated enemy." Arachnimon's attention turned back to Ken. "You were so easy to manipulate; the perfect tool. People with something to prove are so easy to mold."
"But why did you have to pick me?"
"Why me, why me, why me...You really should stop asking that. It's an easy question to answer. You were there."
"We're not going to let you get away with this!" Tailmon hissed.
"I already have; and it's too late for you to stop me."
The feline digimon's eyes narrowed. "Now I understand why you're here." She reached out and closed the program. "She was trying to distract us. Well, it's not going to work. Our friends are in danger!"
***
Ken, Wormmon, and Tailmon raced over the top of the sand dune and skidded down the side, tumbling into a heap at the bottom.
Tailmon shook out the sand from her fur and pointed toward the distance. "Over there! They're fighting something! Come on, let's go!"
Meanwhile, the rest of the Chosen Digimon were circling around a false digimon and attacking at set intervals.
Hikari's face took on an expression of relief when she saw the distant shapes come close enough for her to be able to make out who they were. "Tailmon!"
"I'm ready, Hikari!"
"Digimental up!"
"Tailmon, armor evolve..."
Her body grew into that of a sphinx-like figure. Her front paws expanded to fit the larger proportions of her new body, while white-feathered wings grew from her back. Armor covered the front of her body, while her tail waved in the air behind her.
"...The Light of Smiles, Nefertimon! Curse of Queen!" She lowered her head as a beam of fuchsia energy burst from the stylized snake-like symbol on the top of her headdress.
The Ookuwamon snarled as her attack scored a long wound along its side, revealing the Tower-material beneath.
"Hey, what took you guys so long?!" Daisuke called. "The others didn't believe me when I said you were coming! Where's your Crest? Koushiro said it might be able to stop all these explosions!"
"This is something I have to do by myself," Ken replied. "It's my responsibility; I don't want anyone else to get hurt because of me."\
"Well, THAT sounds awfully familiar," Nefertimon grumbled, as the battle began to turn in their favor. She allowed herself to revert to her Adult form. "I think I said something like that myself, a couple of years ago."
"Are you are trying to get yourself killed or what?" Daisuke asked incredulously.
"It's my Crest, my base, my fault...And I won't let anyone else die for my mistakes. The only way I'll feel like a person again is to wipe out every trace of the evil things I did. Including myself."
"So you think it's all right to kill yourself?" Tailmon asked, her tail lashing the air. "I won't let you. Cat Punch!"
The force of her blow drove Ken down into the sands. In seconds, she was at his side. "You're going to listen to what I have to say," she growled. "I won't let you kill yourself! If you won't think of yourself...then think of the people who care about you: your parents, Wormmon, Daisuke, me..."
"If I die, then..."
"Then what? How can you fix your mistakes if you're dead?" Daisuke asked. "Sure, you've made mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes, even me! The important thing is, you have to stop making mistakes and start helping fix them!"
"I don't know how..."
"Then just keep trying until something works! And until you do, then we'll help you, too. Because that's what friends do; they help you out, even if things get really bad!"
"But what if you don't have friends?"
"What do you mean, you don't have friends?" Daisuke demanded. "Wormmon's your friend, so's Tailmon. I'll be your friend, too, if you let me."
The Chosen watched in awe as twin blue auras burst from their friends' bodies. They were even more surprised when XV-mon and Stingmon merged into...
"...Paildramon!"
"Now let's stop these explosions!" Daisuke called to Ken, who answered with a nod.
"Daisuke, wait!" Takeru called after his friend.
"Tailmon, come back!" Hikari shouted. "It's not safe in there!"
Miyako watched her two friends disappear into the darkened entrance, her mouth hanging open in astonishment. "I guess Daisuke and Tailmon didn't hear you, Takeru."
"No, wait..." Armadimon pointed in the direction they had gone. "The explosions are stopping; they must've fixed the problem!"
The Chosen froze as another explosion sent out a shockwave that threw them to their knees.
"Their plan didn't work? Why not?" Patamon asked in surprise.
***
Inside the former Kaiser's base, Daisuke was wondering the same thing. "I don't get it! We did everything we were supposed to!"
"...The pipes..." Ken nodded to himself. "These pipes send energy to the reactor that provided energy to this place! We just have to follow them, and we'll find the source of these explosions."
The three friends rounded a corner, only to stop short when they were confronted with a wall of rubble completely blocking the passageway.
"I can take care of this," Tailmon said. "Stand back! Cat Punch!"
After enough of the debris had been cleared away, they were able to continue, and soon found themselves at the reactor.
"It's so cold," Daisuke said. "Why is it so COLD?"
"Your body isn't cold," Tailmon explained. "You can sense it, because you're a Chosen Child. The air is filled with the chill of evil!"
"That hole is a gateway to the Dark Area," Ken said. "This power has surrounded me ever since I can remember."
"We need to close that Gateway," Tailmon said. "But it would take too long for me the way I am now..." She sent out a mental call to her partner. *Hikari, I need your help! The only way I can continue to help our friends is to evolve!*
*Okay...*
Tailmon felt the Light's power surge through her body, surrounding her in a sphere of transparent fuchsia light. "Tailmon, super evolve..."
Her tail and ears shrank into her body, which twisted, quickly growing into the figure of a human-like woman. Long golden hair flowed from her head. Bright blue cat's eyes were briefly visible before her mask came down, hiding the upper half of her face from view. Eight feathery white wings sprouted from her back. A lavender ribbon wrapped around her arms, looping over her head. Her left hand was covered with a white glove, while her body was covered with an outfit of white cloth.
"...ANGEWOMON!"
The woman turned to look down at the two boys. "You might want to step back," she said. "This might create another explosion."
After she was sure they were at a safe distance, she released a Holy Arrow directly above the dark gateway. She waited to make sure the hole was completely blocked, then rejoined her male friends.
Daisuke and Ken were both staring at her, their mouths hanging open.
"Oh, that's right..." Angewomon muttered. "I forgot you've never met me before. You can call me Angewomon, and I'm Tailmon's Perfect form."
The two boys continued to stare in something close to astonished disbelief. "P-perfect...?" Ken stammered.
Angewomon sighed and reverted to Tailmon, who rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Can we get back to our friends now, PLEASE?"
***
"We made a great team, Ken," Daisuke said as the three of them rejoined the rest of the Chosen.
"I still don't feel as if I deserve to call you my friends."
"Look, you've earned our friendship," the red-haired boy answered. "Sure, you started out as the Kaiser, but you changed and now you're our friend! I won't take no for an answer."
"I've done so many terrible things...things I can never be proud of."
"So have I. But now look at who I am! People CAN change," Tailmon reminded him, glancing at Iori.
"Yeah, what she said! Everyone makes mistakes, Ken!" Daisuke said.
"I still need some time to think about all of this," the other boy said, turning and beginning to walk away.
"Wait, don't go, Ken!" Daisuke called after him.
***
Wormmon shivered as he continued to follow his partner, glancing around at the trees surrounding them. "Something...doesn't feel right here..."
"You're right," Ken answered as he walked. "There's something wrong about this place..." He glanced to the side and gasped in shock as a vision of black water appeared through the trees.
Wormmon watched in horror as his best friend fell to his knees, clutching his head and screaming. "Oh, no, Ken! Help! Someone help us!"
***
In another part of the same forest, Hikari, Tailmon, Miyako, and Hawkmon were searching for Tailmon's lost Holy Ring.
Tailmon skidded to a stop as she heard her friend screaming somewhere in the distance. "That's...Ken's voice! Something's wrong!"
Hikari stared as her digimon took off. "Tailmon, where are you going? Come back!" She hesitated for a few seconds, then ran off after her partner. "What's the matter, Tailmon?"
Tailmon continued running as she replied to Hikari's question. "It's Ken! Didn't you hear him scream just now, Hikari? Something's wrong with him!"
The two friends came to a stop as they entered the clearing where Wormmon was hovering anxiously over Ken, who seemed oblivious to anything except the pain he was in.
Tailmon knelt next to her distressed friend, taking his hand in her paw. "Ken, it's Tailmon. Hikari and I are here now, everything's going to be okay. Can you hear me?" Her gaze turned to Wormmon. "What happened to him?"
Wormmon shrugged helplessly. "I don't know..."
Tailmon's attention returned to Ken as his eyes opened. "You need to tell me what happened, Ken, or Hikari and I can't help you."
The blue-haired boy shivered, gripping her paw enough to hurt, but she ignored it. Pain meant nothing to her if she could help him. "The ocean...It was the Dark Area..."
Behind them, Hikari gasped in realization. "Could it be...the place I was brought to? The grey beach?"
Miyako, who had just arrived, stared in confusion. "What are you talking about, Hikari?"
Tailmon helped Ken to a sitting position, in spite of his protests. "It's okay, Tailmon. I'm fine now."
***
Takeru was staring down at his D-3 as he walked. "I don't like this at all...We should have found them by now...Wait a minute!"
The other Chosen turned to look at him. "Did you get a lock on them?" Daisuke demanded.
"That doesn't make sense...I'm picking up three other signatures. Two of them must be Ken and Wormmon, but..." His eyes widened. "There's something coming after them! I've never heard of anything that could have such a powerful energy signature! What could it be?"
Someone to Forgive Me
"That jerk..." Miyako muttered. "He destroyed so much, and killed so many people! I've never seen so much destruction."
"I guess..." Daisuke said. "I wonder, though...What do you think he's doing right now?"
"Maybe he's only pretending to have changed?" Hikari wondered.
"If he HAS changed, don't you think he'd be helping us repair all this damage?" Hawkmon asked.
"I don't think he'll ever come back to the Digital World," Miyako answered her partner. "I don't think after everything he did, that the digimon would ever forgive him."
*This digimon has,* Tailmon thought as she held up a board of wood so Daisuke could hammer it into place. *All of you are wrong. He HAS changed; I've seen it with my own eyes.* She laughed inwardly. *I never thought I'd make friends with the Digimon Kaiser. It's funny how these things work out...*
"You're right," Iori said, scowling. "I can't forgive him either. Not EVER!"
***
"Hey, look at that!" Daisuke shouted, pointing toward the field outside of town. "Those three digimon are fighting! Do you think we should stop them?"
"That digimon looks awfully like Armadimon," Miyako said. "I wonder if that's his Adult form?"
Takeru nodded. "Probably. Come on, everyone; let's help them out!"
Iori turned to his friends as they came rushing up. "That digimon just attacked Armadimon and me for no reason!"
"That's odd," Miyako replied. "Sure doesn't look like he's wearing an Evil Ring or Evil Spiral..."
Ankylomon was trying to avoid the attacks of the smaller digimon while an insect digimon with dark green armor seemed to be trying to help him.
"I wonder who that is," Hawkmon wondered, turning his gaze to the battle.
"Iori, watch out!" Hikari called out.
The younger boy was pulled into the air by the wind caused by the two digimon fighting in the sky. The insect digimon noticed and caught Iori in his arms, then set him on the ground next to his friends.
Iori stared after him as he returned to the battle. "I wonder who he is...I've never seen a digimon like him before."
"All of you, look over there!" Daisuke exclaimed, pointing at the boy standing on the roof of the low building.
"What's Ken doing in this world?" Takeru muttered. "I thought he wasn't going to come back here."
The Chosen stared as the insect digimon landed behind the former Kaiser and devolved into a familiar Child digimon.
*That's Wormmon,* Tailmon thought. *Good to see them working together.*
"I didn't know Wormmon had hatched again," Hikari said. "Let alone discovered how to evolve."
They watched as their former enemy left, Wormmon following him.
"I need to use the woods," Tailmon said. "I'll be back in a while."
***
Tailmon emerged from the undergrowth into the clearing where Ken and Wormmon were resting. "Are the two of you all right?" she asked.
"I've been better," Wormmon said. His antenna drooped. "I couldn't stop that woman from getting away, Ken."
"What woman?" Tailmon asked.
"There's been a strange woman hanging around the Dark Towers," Ken replied. "She can turn them into things that look and fight like digimon, but aren't really digimon."
"Well...that's definitely odd," Tailmon muttered. "Well, don't worry, Wormmon. I'm sure you'll get another chance at her."
The green caterpillar nodded, a look of determination entering his blue eyes. "And I won't fail you next time, Ken."
***
"You know what I think, Hikari?"
The brown-haired girl turned her gaze toward Daisuke questioningly. "What?"
"I think maybe Ken might not be such a bad guy, after all. I mean, he did help us out last time, you know?"
"He'll have to prove himself to us first. He's done some awfully horrible things."
***
"Hey, Iori, you know...I was thinking about Ken."
"Why?"
"Well, you know, I think he might be a Chosen Child. He's got a partner and a digivice and everything."
"So?"
"Well, I'm thinking of asking him to join our..."
"I don't think so, Daisuke."
"Hey, it was just an idea. You don't have to be so rude about it."
***
"You know what? Ken really has changed. He's not the Digimon Kaiser anymore."
"I don't know," Miyako said uncertainly. "I thought he changed, too. Especially after Wormmon died. It seemed as if he finally figured out that digimon were real people. But after that battle in the Digital World, I don't know what to think. He seemed an awful lot like the Kaiser. The way he just ordered Stingmon to kill that digimon...I'm sorry, Daisuke. I just don't think we can trust him, after all."
"Man, nobody ever believes me! I guess I just need to do this on my own."
***
"Hey, Ken!" Daisuke called out as he came running up.
Tailmon quickly ducked under a bush before the red-haired boy caught sight of her. She had been hoping to just have a quiet picnic with her newfound friends...but it looked like that wasn't going to happen.
"What are you doing all the way out here?" Ken asked, standing up and brushing the sand off his pants. "Are you just going to tell how awful I've been, like your other friends?"
Daisuke shook his head. "Not me. Sure, you've done some pretty terrible stuff, but you're not like that anymore!"
"You're the last person I'd expect to forgive me. Especially after what I did to you in the desert."
Daisuke laughed nervously. "Oh, that..."
Tailmon's forehead wrinkled in confusion. *What happened in the desert? And why didn't Daisuke tell any of us about it?*
"Look, I've got an idea. Why don't you and Wormmon come back with me? I'll introduce you guys to my friends, and you can tell them you're sorry!"
"It's not that easy, Daisuke," Ken replied. "I'm not ready to face them yet. And I don't think they're ready to stop hating me."
"Hey, they don't hate you; they just don't understand you! I know you're sorry for what you did, but they don't."
"What makes you so special?"
"I never said I was special! I just think you're better then you give yourself credit for!"
"I wouldn't be too sure."
"We could really use your help, you know. Some really weird stuff has been happening in the Digital World."
"Daisuke...I appreciate you being honest with me and all...but it's just not that easy. I can't join you."
"What do you mean, you can't join us? Why not?"
"I just can't. I'm sorry." Ken turned and started walking away from Daisuke.
Wormmon glanced between the two boys, then turned and began following his partner.
"Hey, where are you going? Come on, we could be your friends! Don't turn your back on us, Ken!"
Tailmon kept to the shadows as she crept after the human, in order to keep out of Daisuke's sight. *It's past time that the others forgave him and let the past die. I just hope he can find a way to forgive himself.*
***
"You can do it!" Ken called. "Now! Get him!"
"Spiking Finish!" Stingmon called out. The lance mounted on his forearm glowed with a fuchsia energy and extended as he lunged forward.
"Cat Punch!" Tailmon shouted. She leaped up from the ground, driving her fist into the false Snimon's face.
It snarled and swung at her with the blades on the ends of its arms. She easily somersaulted out of the way, landing on her feet. She stared at the monster's face, her eyes glowing bright red. "Cat's Eye Hypnotism!"
The false Snimon froze in place, giving Stingmon the opportunity to destroy it with another Spiking Finish.
"We did it, Ken!" Wormmon said happily as he rejoined his partner.
"Yeah, the three of us make a great team, don't we?" Tailmon replied. "Unfortunately, I don't think we've seen the last of that woman."
"I'm starting to think that maybe Daisuke's right," Ken said. "Maybe Wormmon and I SHOULD join your team after all, Tailmon. I don't think the three of us can do this alone."
***
"How can we stop him without hurting him?" Miyako exclaimed, watching in horror as Golemon punched another hole in the dam.
"I don't think we have much of a choice anymore," Daisuke said.
Miyako's face paled. "You're not SERIOUS!"
Daisuke ignored her. "We're going to have to kill him."
"Are you INSANE? He's a living creature, Daisuke! We'll just have to think of some other way to stop him!"
"I don't think there IS a better way."
"Let's at least try to keep protecting the dam."
"Look, Miyako, the longer we fight him, the more time he has to destroy the dam. If we don't stop him, hundreds of people are going to die! We haven't got much choice!"
"If we kill Golemon, we won't be any better then Ken and Stingmon! We really need to find a way to stop him without hurting him!"
Tailmon growled in annoyance. "Miyako, would you really let hundreds of people just so you won't have this thing's blood on your hands? Ken did what he did to save lives, which is what we're going to have to do now!"
"Why do Daisuke and Tailmon always take Ken's side, even after they saw what he had Stingmon do? How can they POSSIBLY think Ken has changed?" Miyako exclaimed.
"He's going to break the dam!" XV-mon called out. "Make up your minds; something has to be done!"
Golemon snarled as a green blur dropped from the sky and grabbed his arm to prevent the blow from landing.
"All right! I KNEW they'd come to help us out!" Daisuke shouted.
"There's something all of you have to know!" Palmon pointed in Golemon's direction. "That thing isn't a digimon!"
"...What?" Takeru asked in confusion.
"There's a woman. I'm not sure if she's a human or a digimon...but she has the ability to cast spells on the Dark Towers and transform them into things that look like digimon, but aren't!"
"That last digimon we fought must have been a reshaped Dark Tower...and I bet Ken and Stingmon figured that out!" Daisuke realized. "And that's the real reason why Stingmon destroyed it!"
Meanwhile, Tailmon had joined Stingmon on top of the dam. "Let's show this rockhead what we can do!"
The other Adult digimon attacked from below, their power spiraling together into a single beam of raw energy that slammed into the false digimon.
They stared in shock as Golemon's skin dissolved, revealing the reshaped Dark Tower material beneath. Then it dissolved.
***
"I won't make any excuses for the things I've done...but I AM sorry."
"Thanks for helping us out back there," Daisuke said. "Without your help, who knows what would have happened?"
"It was the least I could do after all the trouble I caused you. I want you to know that Wormmon and I have NOTHING to do with that woman. She's found a way to change the Dark Towers into false digimon through some sort of dark magic."
"If you knew about all this, why didn't you say something?" Hikari asked.
"We created the problem, so we wanted to fix it ourselves," Wormmon replied.
"And I wasn't sure if you would believe us," Ken said.
"Well, I would have, but the rest would've taken some convincing. But we can start over now. Why don't you join us?" Daisuke said.
"I'm sorry, but I'm just not ready yet."
"Hey, at least think it over! We could really use your help!" Daisuke called after him.
***
Tailmon hissed, her fur standing on end. "Don't touch that, Ken."
"It's pure evil. And...I built it. But I can't understand how Arachnimon can use them for her own purposes."
"You'll be able to figure it out," Wormmon said.
"Thanks, Wormmon. I'm glad someone still has faith in me."
"But the important thing is to have faith in yourself," Tailmon reminded him.
"I built these things...I should have some idea of how they work...but I don't. The Kaiser would have known...but I'm not that person anymore."
"That's a relief," Wormmon said.
"Just looking at them makes me sick to my stomach."
"Put your head between your knees and take a deep breath," Tailmon ordered. After she was sure her friend would be all right, she continued. "If you don't understand how to turn them off, then Stingmon and I will just have to destroy them all."
***
"You again!" Ken exclaimed, his eyes narrowing.
"I see you've made friends with one of the Chosen Children's pets," Arachnimon said from the computer screen.
Tailmon snarled wordlessly at her, extending her claws warningly.
"Oh, did I come at a bad time? I'll leave you and your pets alone then, Kaiser."
"No, wait!" Ken protested, glaring at her.
"Why should I? Your friend is very rude."
"Of course she is, because you won't leave us alone! What do you want?" Ken demanded.
"What makes you think I want anything from you?" she asked.
"Then WHY are you bothering us?" Tailmon hissed.
Arachnimon laughed. "Curiosity killed the cat. It's none of your business. Or yours, Kaiser."
"Of course it's my business-you're using the Dark Towers that I built! My creations...my shame."
"You think rather well of yourself, don't you, Kaiser?"
Ken looked down, while Wormmon leaned against him.
Tailmon's fur bristled, her ears flattening. "You USED him!" she hissed in realization.
"Of course I did! Amazing that you were able to figure it out so quickly."
She snarled in rage. "No one hurts one of my friends like that and gets away with it!"
"How amusing...one of the Chosen pets defending their defeated enemy." Arachnimon's attention turned back to Ken. "You were so easy to manipulate; the perfect tool. People with something to prove are so easy to mold."
"But why did you have to pick me?"
"Why me, why me, why me...You really should stop asking that. It's an easy question to answer. You were there."
"We're not going to let you get away with this!" Tailmon hissed.
"I already have; and it's too late for you to stop me."
The feline digimon's eyes narrowed. "Now I understand why you're here." She reached out and closed the program. "She was trying to distract us. Well, it's not going to work. Our friends are in danger!"
***
Ken, Wormmon, and Tailmon raced over the top of the sand dune and skidded down the side, tumbling into a heap at the bottom.
Tailmon shook out the sand from her fur and pointed toward the distance. "Over there! They're fighting something! Come on, let's go!"
Meanwhile, the rest of the Chosen Digimon were circling around a false digimon and attacking at set intervals.
Hikari's face took on an expression of relief when she saw the distant shapes come close enough for her to be able to make out who they were. "Tailmon!"
"I'm ready, Hikari!"
"Digimental up!"
"Tailmon, armor evolve..."
Her body grew into that of a sphinx-like figure. Her front paws expanded to fit the larger proportions of her new body, while white-feathered wings grew from her back. Armor covered the front of her body, while her tail waved in the air behind her.
"...The Light of Smiles, Nefertimon! Curse of Queen!" She lowered her head as a beam of fuchsia energy burst from the stylized snake-like symbol on the top of her headdress.
The Ookuwamon snarled as her attack scored a long wound along its side, revealing the Tower-material beneath.
"Hey, what took you guys so long?!" Daisuke called. "The others didn't believe me when I said you were coming! Where's your Crest? Koushiro said it might be able to stop all these explosions!"
"This is something I have to do by myself," Ken replied. "It's my responsibility; I don't want anyone else to get hurt because of me."\
"Well, THAT sounds awfully familiar," Nefertimon grumbled, as the battle began to turn in their favor. She allowed herself to revert to her Adult form. "I think I said something like that myself, a couple of years ago."
"Are you are trying to get yourself killed or what?" Daisuke asked incredulously.
"It's my Crest, my base, my fault...And I won't let anyone else die for my mistakes. The only way I'll feel like a person again is to wipe out every trace of the evil things I did. Including myself."
"So you think it's all right to kill yourself?" Tailmon asked, her tail lashing the air. "I won't let you. Cat Punch!"
The force of her blow drove Ken down into the sands. In seconds, she was at his side. "You're going to listen to what I have to say," she growled. "I won't let you kill yourself! If you won't think of yourself...then think of the people who care about you: your parents, Wormmon, Daisuke, me..."
"If I die, then..."
"Then what? How can you fix your mistakes if you're dead?" Daisuke asked. "Sure, you've made mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes, even me! The important thing is, you have to stop making mistakes and start helping fix them!"
"I don't know how..."
"Then just keep trying until something works! And until you do, then we'll help you, too. Because that's what friends do; they help you out, even if things get really bad!"
"But what if you don't have friends?"
"What do you mean, you don't have friends?" Daisuke demanded. "Wormmon's your friend, so's Tailmon. I'll be your friend, too, if you let me."
The Chosen watched in awe as twin blue auras burst from their friends' bodies. They were even more surprised when XV-mon and Stingmon merged into...
"...Paildramon!"
"Now let's stop these explosions!" Daisuke called to Ken, who answered with a nod.
"Daisuke, wait!" Takeru called after his friend.
"Tailmon, come back!" Hikari shouted. "It's not safe in there!"
Miyako watched her two friends disappear into the darkened entrance, her mouth hanging open in astonishment. "I guess Daisuke and Tailmon didn't hear you, Takeru."
"No, wait..." Armadimon pointed in the direction they had gone. "The explosions are stopping; they must've fixed the problem!"
The Chosen froze as another explosion sent out a shockwave that threw them to their knees.
"Their plan didn't work? Why not?" Patamon asked in surprise.
***
Inside the former Kaiser's base, Daisuke was wondering the same thing. "I don't get it! We did everything we were supposed to!"
"...The pipes..." Ken nodded to himself. "These pipes send energy to the reactor that provided energy to this place! We just have to follow them, and we'll find the source of these explosions."
The three friends rounded a corner, only to stop short when they were confronted with a wall of rubble completely blocking the passageway.
"I can take care of this," Tailmon said. "Stand back! Cat Punch!"
After enough of the debris had been cleared away, they were able to continue, and soon found themselves at the reactor.
"It's so cold," Daisuke said. "Why is it so COLD?"
"Your body isn't cold," Tailmon explained. "You can sense it, because you're a Chosen Child. The air is filled with the chill of evil!"
"That hole is a gateway to the Dark Area," Ken said. "This power has surrounded me ever since I can remember."
"We need to close that Gateway," Tailmon said. "But it would take too long for me the way I am now..." She sent out a mental call to her partner. *Hikari, I need your help! The only way I can continue to help our friends is to evolve!*
*Okay...*
Tailmon felt the Light's power surge through her body, surrounding her in a sphere of transparent fuchsia light. "Tailmon, super evolve..."
Her tail and ears shrank into her body, which twisted, quickly growing into the figure of a human-like woman. Long golden hair flowed from her head. Bright blue cat's eyes were briefly visible before her mask came down, hiding the upper half of her face from view. Eight feathery white wings sprouted from her back. A lavender ribbon wrapped around her arms, looping over her head. Her left hand was covered with a white glove, while her body was covered with an outfit of white cloth.
"...ANGEWOMON!"
The woman turned to look down at the two boys. "You might want to step back," she said. "This might create another explosion."
After she was sure they were at a safe distance, she released a Holy Arrow directly above the dark gateway. She waited to make sure the hole was completely blocked, then rejoined her male friends.
Daisuke and Ken were both staring at her, their mouths hanging open.
"Oh, that's right..." Angewomon muttered. "I forgot you've never met me before. You can call me Angewomon, and I'm Tailmon's Perfect form."
The two boys continued to stare in something close to astonished disbelief. "P-perfect...?" Ken stammered.
Angewomon sighed and reverted to Tailmon, who rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Can we get back to our friends now, PLEASE?"
***
"We made a great team, Ken," Daisuke said as the three of them rejoined the rest of the Chosen.
"I still don't feel as if I deserve to call you my friends."
"Look, you've earned our friendship," the red-haired boy answered. "Sure, you started out as the Kaiser, but you changed and now you're our friend! I won't take no for an answer."
"I've done so many terrible things...things I can never be proud of."
"So have I. But now look at who I am! People CAN change," Tailmon reminded him, glancing at Iori.
"Yeah, what she said! Everyone makes mistakes, Ken!" Daisuke said.
"I still need some time to think about all of this," the other boy said, turning and beginning to walk away.
"Wait, don't go, Ken!" Daisuke called after him.
***
Wormmon shivered as he continued to follow his partner, glancing around at the trees surrounding them. "Something...doesn't feel right here..."
"You're right," Ken answered as he walked. "There's something wrong about this place..." He glanced to the side and gasped in shock as a vision of black water appeared through the trees.
Wormmon watched in horror as his best friend fell to his knees, clutching his head and screaming. "Oh, no, Ken! Help! Someone help us!"
***
In another part of the same forest, Hikari, Tailmon, Miyako, and Hawkmon were searching for Tailmon's lost Holy Ring.
Tailmon skidded to a stop as she heard her friend screaming somewhere in the distance. "That's...Ken's voice! Something's wrong!"
Hikari stared as her digimon took off. "Tailmon, where are you going? Come back!" She hesitated for a few seconds, then ran off after her partner. "What's the matter, Tailmon?"
Tailmon continued running as she replied to Hikari's question. "It's Ken! Didn't you hear him scream just now, Hikari? Something's wrong with him!"
The two friends came to a stop as they entered the clearing where Wormmon was hovering anxiously over Ken, who seemed oblivious to anything except the pain he was in.
Tailmon knelt next to her distressed friend, taking his hand in her paw. "Ken, it's Tailmon. Hikari and I are here now, everything's going to be okay. Can you hear me?" Her gaze turned to Wormmon. "What happened to him?"
Wormmon shrugged helplessly. "I don't know..."
Tailmon's attention returned to Ken as his eyes opened. "You need to tell me what happened, Ken, or Hikari and I can't help you."
The blue-haired boy shivered, gripping her paw enough to hurt, but she ignored it. Pain meant nothing to her if she could help him. "The ocean...It was the Dark Area..."
Behind them, Hikari gasped in realization. "Could it be...the place I was brought to? The grey beach?"
Miyako, who had just arrived, stared in confusion. "What are you talking about, Hikari?"
Tailmon helped Ken to a sitting position, in spite of his protests. "It's okay, Tailmon. I'm fine now."
***
Takeru was staring down at his D-3 as he walked. "I don't like this at all...We should have found them by now...Wait a minute!"
The other Chosen turned to look at him. "Did you get a lock on them?" Daisuke demanded.
"That doesn't make sense...I'm picking up three other signatures. Two of them must be Ken and Wormmon, but..." His eyes widened. "There's something coming after them! I've never heard of anything that could have such a powerful energy signature! What could it be?"