Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Wicked Chains ❯ Shattered ( Chapter 7 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

By: Sugah

-=* Ch. 7 *=-

~He's in the Digital World…~

~With him…~

Takeru drew in a calming breath, wishing desperately that this wasn't happening, that it wasn't possible that Daisuke had known for some time about the Kaizer. The blond looked down in the white and red digivice, a sinking feeling in his gut.

If he didn't, how then did he get to the digital world without his 'vice?

~He knows the Kaizer's identity.~

Daisuke had betrayed them, but for now…Takeru had to keep that a secret. He glanced up at the two older teens, Tai and Yama, and winced. They knew something about Daisuke, too. They knew, or they wouldn't be acting so calm about the whole ordeal.

And Takeru hadn't told anyone about the fact that he had Daisuke's digivice and d-terminal.

Hell would break loose, he knew, if that happened.

A strong familiar pain was eating away at him, gnawing at his heart and mind as he sat there, circling over the fact that Daisuke had run to him, and never noticed what was waiting for him. Hoping for him.

And there wasn't anything that Takeru could do to pull Daisuke away from whoever the Kaizer was. Whatever the Kaizer meant to him, Takeru didn't possess it.

His face grim, and his heart warring desperately with his mind, Takeru hid the two digital objects under his jacket and stared out the window.

Ken opened his eyes to see azure skies, emerald trees and clouds framing a blazing sun, and for the first time acknowledged the beauty of the place he was in. He inhaled slowly, feeling a comforting weight on his chest and the slow stroking of strong fingers down his arm.

The Kaizer was at peace, floating in an ethereal mental fog that left no room for doubt that the words he had whispered were true.

Osamu had said them to him during his French course, explaining the meaning and lifting the smaller brother up into his lap to show how the word was spelled. Ken forced back a curl of sorrow at the memory, a flood of joy that he had finally fulfilled a barely-remembered promise.

//See? Jeh-taaaym. Say it slowly and slur it. There! You got it!//

//…je'taime, little brother…remember that, okay?//

//What does it mean, Osamu-onnichan?//

Feeling strangely vulnerable, Ken swallowed against his tears.

~I love you…~

"What's wrong?" Daisuke whispered softly, his lips brushing the bared skin. They lay curled up on the rock, heedless of the chill and the hardness, heedless of any scrapes.

"N-nothing…" Ken shook his head, trying not to choke.

"You're all tensed up…did I do something wrong?" Daisuke perched himself up on his elbows, alarm sparking through his eyes. "I didn't hurt you did I?"

Ken turned his face away. "I'm fine!" he insisted, trying to bury himself beneath Daisuke's chin. ~Stop crying! Stop being weak!~

"You are not!" Daisuke whispered fiercely, and pulled Ken into his arms as he sat up. His arms automatically wrapping around the slender shoulders, Daisuke began to slowly rub the back of the neck, trying to get the stiff form to relax. "Please tell me…"

"I was just thinking," Ken whispered, horrified at his easy surrender to the arms and just as horrified that he had once desired to break this boy who obviously cared about him.

A part of him whispered that he still had a chance.

Ken shuddered, and slowly pushed the tears away and took a deep breath. Somewhat calmer after several more of the inhalations, he lifted his head. "No, I'm fine now," he said before Daisuke could demand answers. "Just some old memories."

Daisuke was watching him sharply, and Ken felt a faint slice of fear that the redhead had him completely by the heart; if he wanted, he could utterly destroy him. "Alright," the Chosen whispered slowly. "But if you start acting weird…"

Ken smiled faintly, pulling back enough to stretch and wonder where the rest of his uniform was thrown this time. "We should be getting back… My mother will be worried." He rose to his knees and began to slide the bunched up uniform over his hips.

"Ugh," he said after a second, and decided that it'd be better if he washed first.

Daisuke smothered a laugh, already shimmied out of his slightly stained shorts, and pushed backwards off the rock into the water with a splash. "Need a bath?"

The Kaizer stood, letting the clothing fall to the ground and sliding his feet out, watching Daisuke with a calculating grin. "Perhaps…is it deep?"

Daisuke nodded solemnly. "It's like a barrel…straight down at all the edges, except for the beach over there." He paused and looked suspiciously at Ken, standing in all his birthday-suit glory. "Why?"

Shrugging, Ken stepped up to the edge of the rock, glancing down. "Oh…nothing…" Then he dove into the water, slicing neatly through the surface and tackled Daisuke.

Whooping, the redhead disappeared under, a laugh echoing through the trees, as the two wrestled under the water. A few kisses were exchanged, the quiet warming kisses that lovers shared.

The first warning beeps of the approaching went unheard from Ken's digivice.

After a moment, when the two dripping head broke the surface, did the two notice the warning bleeps.

"That's not what I think it is, is it?" Daisuke frowned, throwing his wet mop of hair out of his eyes. Gasping from the tussle, he glanced back at Ken, then frantically up into the sky.

~Shimatta!!~ Ken thought viciously, glancing skyward with a glare for the reaction he saw in Daisuke, and struck for the beach. "Come on!"

"The readout points the north, ten more degrees," Iori shouted over the wind, held protectively in Takeru's arms with Armadillomon in front of him. The boy spared a glance over his shoulder at the dark look on Takeru's face, feeling a faint curl of dread.

Hikari and Miyako were flying the point position, carrying Tai and Yamato behind them. For some reason, the two former Digidestined had insisted on coming with, saying something about making sure it was true. Iori and Miyako had exchanged doubtful looks at the time.

Iori frowned, and looked down into the thick spread of trees, trying to estimate the distance relation between the blipping dot, and the ground. Whatever Daisuke was doing in the digital world, the younger boy didn't care. It was the fact that he had apparently ran to the Kaizer.

Their enemy.

In Iori's eyes, that made Daisuke a traitor, no matter what the story happened to be. Miyako had agreed with him, privately, through the emails.

He never noticed the extra speck of shimmering light, almost overlapping Takeru's signal, and the solitary signal ahead was alone.

But time enough for that later. They had a missing leader to locate and interrogate.

Daisuke was shaking as he scrambled into his shorts, his shirt forgotten in his haste to get dressed. ~Oh god…they followed me!~ he was thinking. He wasn't sure if he was happy about the fact that they cared, or the fact that they were intruding on his much needed privacy.

Daisuke knew, however, that if they discovered him with the Kaizer, there'd be hell to pay. He glanced over at the half-dressed teen, watching him pull out his digivice and punch several buttons. "How much time?" Daisuke's eyes were wide as he hunted for his shoes.

Ken looked up, a dark expression in his eyes that was way to familiar. "Soon," the Kaizer said, and yanked up the jumpsuit over his shoulders. ~Damn them!~ he growled inside, and hoped the Airdramon he had summoned would make it before the Digidestined.

The redhead tossed him his shoulder-pads and cape. Ken nodded once and slipped them over his head. "Daisuke, I've summoned Airdramon," he informed, reaching behind the bushed to grasp his glasses.

"Okay, I'll be-waaaugh!"

Ken snapped his head around at Daisuke's scream, the whip brandished automatically. "Dai?!"

Daisuke fell on his butt, the flame jacket clutched on hand while the other pressed to his chest. He was gasping for air. "Damn…you nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Wormmon looked up meekly from the crumpled pile of Daisuke's shirt. "Forgive me," he said just as meekly, trying to cower back into the earth itself.

"You idiot," Ken muttered. "What are you doing here?"

Wormmon flinched, the expression in his eyes one of sorrow and happiness as he looked in Ken's direction. "I sensed you returned, and thought you might need me, Master. So I came. You were busy, though." It seemed possible that Wormmon's green cheeks were tinged pink as he spoke. "I didn't want to interrupt."

Miffed, Ken coiled the whip and merely spat at the ground. "Hurry up," he ordered. "Airdramon will be flying under the tree-line. Now move."

"Yeesh," Daisuke whispered to Wormmon, who had given up his position on the shirt. "He always this stiff?" The green insect merely nodded, looking downcast. "Well, come on, then," he slid his hands carefully around the digimon and picked him up, then trotted quickly over to Ken. He looked in the direction of the base, where Ken had vaguely indicated, and frowned.

A large shape was undulation towards them, moving quicker than the wind.

"Wooo…" Daisuke whistled, as the serpentine creature coiled obediently around a tree for them to climb onto his back. Ken glanced at him, and without saying a word, jumped nimbly to the head position.

Daisuke, with Wormmon secured in his arms, took a bit longer to scramble up. Ken reached down, finally, and offered his leather-clad hand for Daisuke. The redhead looked up, smiled briefly, and clasped it. He was pulled up with surprising strength, although nothing seemed to be surprising anymore.

"Up," the Kaizer commanded, and the Airdramon obediently rose, the red-colored wings folded tightly between the trees to keep from tearing.

Then they were off, snaking through the trees and the air with skilled ease. Daisuke had to grab onto the dark blue cape flowing from the Kaizer's shoulders to keep his balance. "Where are we going?" he asked as soon as Wormmon had taken up the shotgun position.

"To a port, and then to the real world."

The redhead nodded faintly. He was beginning to feel more than a little uncomfortable in the returned presence of the Kaizer. This was the person who was able to hurt the Digimon. This was the person who had wanted him and his team gone, if not dead. This was the person who had kidnapped him.

This was the person that Ken was, and that Daisuke loved, despite it all.

~And I don't know if he loves me back…~ Daisuke thought, his hands now gripping tight to the orangish hair flowing back. ~But does it matter? I've already condemned myself…~

A pang of sorrow swept through him. ~I'm sorry guys…but I can't just leave him…There's something…something I have to do…~

~He needs me…~

"What the-?"

Miyako looked over at Iori's confused shout. "What is it?"

Iori looked up with a startlingly dark look. "He's on the move! Headed East!" he shouted back.

Unnoticed by the rest, Taichi shot his lover a look, plainly saying 'This is trouble.' Yamato nodded in response. ~They're acting like Daisuke did something wrong…~

~Like betray them…~

Taichi frowned, scanning the forest below for any signs of movement, any signs that Daisuke was around. "Hikari?" he whispered. "Listen to me…whatever happens, don't let either of them get hurt!"

The younger girl stiffened. "Huh? Tai? What's going on?" She jumped as Tai shushed her. "Tai, you know something! Tell me!" she said in a soft voice.

Tai closed his eyes. "Daisuke's in love," he whispered back.

"And I have a suspicion that the Kaizer might return the feeling…"

Hikari was silent for a stretch of time, and Tai began to fear that he had said the assumptions gained over time to the wrong person.

"Tai…you're going to confront them, aren't you," she said finally, resigned.

Tai nodded, ignoring Iori's continued directional shifts, and looked ahead. The border of the forest was approaching fast; if the two kept in a straight line, they'd be out in the open.

The older Child of Courage wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. For one, the others would see the two, if Daisuke was with the Kaizer. On the other hand…the Kaizer might just turn around and attack. They were in his territory; there was a very real possibility of a trap.

~God, Daisuke, I hope you know what you're doing!~ he thought. Iori was pointing straight ahead, and Tai reflexively glanced at his 'vice. Yes…they were getting closer…and their course wasn't changing.

~Yamato…I hope you're right…~ the brown-haired teen looked over at the blond seated behind a still-fuming Miyako. He was giving wary glances to the other blond in the party, Takeru, and Tai could see why.

Takeru, if nothing else, would kill the Kaizer if he got the chance. He could see it on his face.

Then the Airdramon burst up out of the canopy a good hundred feet before the last of the trees, shooting upwards like a rocket as it arced in wide loop and headed southwest.

Looked like there would be a race, Tai noted.

"And how do you plan on losing them?" Daisuke shouted over the rushing of the wind. He could barely see, so he merely clutched at both the cape and the hair whipping around him, reassuring himself that Ken was there.

Ken himself was leaning against the wind, his body taut with the strain as the Airdramon curved around, occasionally diving beneath the canopy and shifting direction. "I have a weapon I've been wanting to use for some time," he shouted back absently. He forgot who he was speaking to, forgot the nature of the boy.

"You're going to attack?!" Daisuke nearly screamed. "You can't!"

The Kaizer turned his head fractionally. "Would you rather go back to them?"

"That's not the point!!"

Ken stiffened, and turned his head back to the front. "This is more than just us! They would take you away, Daisuke. I will not let that happen! I refuse to!"

Daisuke numbly shook his head, fighting against a wave of horror. "They're still just kids! No matter what they've done, or said, they're kids!"

"It doesn't matter," the blue-clad dictator replied. "They'll try to hurt you, and I will not allow it."

Daisuke stared at him with despair, frozen by the unreachable boy, and clenched his fists. "I can't let you hurt them," he said after a moment. Tears and sorrow where in his voice. "That'd be wrong, Ken…"

"It doesn't matter," Ken repeated softly, dangerous lilt in his voice. "I've already summoned it."

~It? What it?!~ The redhead bit his lip and turned carefully to glimpse the three shapes that were close on the tail of the Airdramon. They were getting closer; no matter what plan Ken had in store for them, they were getting closer and if Daisuke was right…

They'd begin attacking soon. As far Daisuke knew, they assumed the two had betrayed them. ~Oh god…I'm sorry…but I won't change my mind,~ he thought irrationally. ~Not if it means seeing the dream come true…~

~I will not let them hurt him…~

"Ken…"

Trying to ignore the sadness in the voice, Ken shifted his stance, plotting out mentally the path that would evade their pursuers the most and get them closer to the base.

"I trust you," Daisuke said loud enough to hear over the wind. "I even-"

"Kaizer! "

~Too late…~ without even looking, Daisuke flinched, recognizing the voice. ~Takeru…don't you dare mess it up…~

"Stop, or I'll fire!"

Daisuke refused to turn and see the boy, refused to see the others. ~Just go away…~ he thought, his head bowed as he tried to stem the flow of tears that seemed to appear from nowhere. ~I don't want to lose anyone…~

Ken, however, merely turned in his standing position, watching Takeru from under shifting hair blown wild by the wind, and frowned. He knew this one would be trouble… It was odd that the two of the former 'team' had shown up as well. Perhaps they were close enough, however, to stop for now. He gave the command to Airdramon quietly, and the dragon twisted in the air, hovering slightly higher than the three Digidestined, and faced them.

"Are you having fun?" he asked with a nasty little smirk. "I certainly was…"

Well, it was true. Until the dammed brats had interrupted.

The blond scowled, his gaze flickering to the crouched form who refused to turn around. "We came for Daisuke," he stated.

Ken raised a brow. "Oh, you mean you came for Daisuke." ~Bastard…he's mine…and you know it…~

Takeru flushed, his hat clutched protectively in his hands, but didn't refute the claim. Behind them, Tai and Yamato gave each other tired looks, recognizing the beginnings of a fight.

"But, however," Ken began. "I don't remember hearing Daisuke say he wanted any of you around, you know." His gaze flicked downward, an almost imperceptible gleam in his eye betraying something, and continued. "With the way you all treat him, I'm surprised that he lasted this long."

"The way we treat him?" Takeru sneered. "That's surprising from a guy who imprisoned him for three weeks."

Ken smirked. "Oh…you afraid that he might have liked it?"

"You sick bastard!-" Takeru made a move to go forward, his fists clenched.

"That's enough," Yamato said coldly. The Kaizer wasn't the only who knew how to use his voice. "You both stop this right now."

"Yama-"

"I said shut up!" the blond Child of Friendship snapped. "And that means both of you!"

"He's right," Hikari whispered. "Fighting isn't what we need right now."

Tai raised his gaze to the Kaizer's, staring at him without malice, without fear, and asked, "Can we take this out of the air?"

The Kaizer didn't move. His face was pale as he watched them, inscrutable eyes behind the purple lenses, and his hands clenched. ~How dare they,~ a part of him snarled. "And have the blond-in-heat over here attack me the moment I step down? I don't think so." Ken fingered his whip. "In fact, I'd rather stay up here, and talk, if at all possible." His voice was dark, full of a hidden laughter that seemed to cut Daisuke to the core. The redhead crouched even further, and shuddered.

"Daisuke?" Yamato called. "Are you alright?"

"Don't even bother talking to him, Yamato," Miyako sneered over her shoulder. She held her tone loud enough to carry as she spat over the side. "He's just a goddamned traitor, anyway."

~I have to stop this,~ Daisuke was thinking desperately. He winced as he heard Miyako's tone, heard the words that he knew she meant. How many of the others thought he had betrayed them?

How would he prove to them that it wasn't the case?

~How do I get Ken to stop?~ he sighed inside, gazing away from everything and down into the trees below. They were high up, he noticed. ~High enough, if I-~ He felt like screaming, he thought numbly as he got to his feet. Ken was glancing back at him with wary apprehension.

Daisuke smiled at him, heedless of the tears on his face, and turned to face the group behind him. Airdramon lowered fractionally until they were all on a similar level. "I-" he began.

"We don't need to hear anything from you!" Miyako shrilled, her face flushed with anger. "You bastard, we don't need you!"

Daisuke smiled softly, regret and pain showing in his stance and eyes, in his face. Instead of explaining, like he had intended, he bowed his head, thinking deeply. "Maybe you're right," he shrugged. "But you don't understand."

"Miyako-" Yamato hissed. A part of him shook as he recognized the desperate look in Daisuke's eyes.

The lavender haired Child of Love and Sincerity shrugged off his hand, and glared at Daisuke. "I understand plenty, you turncoat fag!" Her face twisted. "You got fucked, and now you think he likes you."

His chocolate eyes wide, Daisuke didn't move, didn't breathe. ~No…that's not true…~

Then Ken, his teeth bared in a feral snarl, cracked his whip dangerously close to Miyako's face. "Are you done fouling the air, you little bitch?" His hand slid against Daisuke's back reassuringly, trying to soothe the tension out of the frame as he locked gazes with the girl. "I don't recall asking you to unload your jealousy here. Next time I hear a word out of you, I will rip out that disgusting tongue of yours," Ken grinned as darkly as possible.

"I'm sure I'd be doing the world a favor," he continued.

"No…Don't do anything to them…" Daisuke whispered. "It is my fault…"

Ken blinked, a retort on his lips as he shifted his glare to where Daisuke stood. "Don't be-"

Then something concussed through the air, a shockwave of some sort that shook through the frame of Airdramon. And then redhead was falling, his face startled as Ken lunged for him.

He missed the outstretched hand by centimeters.

"Daisuke!!"

Ken's world shattered in a white explosion.