Fan Fiction / Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Descent into Hell ❯ One-Shot
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Time Lady 
An unsuspecting Digimon is sucked into another dimension where he begins a true descent into hell.
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction / Digimon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Horror / / Psychological | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 04.17.2002 | Pages: 5 | Words: 4.7K | Visits: 3.3K | Status: Completed
An unsuspecting Digimon is sucked into another dimension where he begins a true descent into hell.
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction / Digimon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Horror / / Psychological | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 04.17.2002 | Pages: 5 | Words: 4.7K | Visits: 3.3K | Status: Completed
Descent into Hell
By Time Lady
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Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained within.
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I should have listened. Other Digimon said not to get to close to those strange spatial disturbances that appeared from time to time. But did I listen? No. And so began my descent into hell.
---
I was always too mischievous for my own good. Whatever I could find I would try to vacuum up into my trunk. Sometimes I'd blow things away, right out from under someone's nose just for the fun of it. "Vacuumon," they would tell me, "you're really going to get yourself into trouble one day."
Of course I didn't listen. That wouldn't have been any fun. Along one of the plateaus these strange. . . rifts, I guess you'd call them. . . began appearing out of nowhere. No one could explain them. In fact, no one wanted to get near them. Except me. I'd roll up on my massive treaded wheels and circle them, despite the warnings everyone shouted. This went on for several days.
After a while I made a game of it. Just as an Elecmon was about to eat a huge pile of ripe berries he had laid out on a leaf, I sucked them up with my vacuuming trunk. "Why you. . . it took me an hour to pick those! SPARKLING THUNDER!"
My all-terrain wheels sped me out of there as fast as they could. An angry Elecmon was not a pretty site. He was close on my tail, so I headed for the one place I knew he wouldn't follow. That was where I made my mistake. I was moving as quickly as I could when I decided to see how close Elecmon was behind me.
I never saw the rift.
---
"Good morning," said a rather bland voice, even, male voice. I opened my eyes to find myself in a gray room.
"Where am I?"
"Your new home."
"Where is that supposed to be?"
"Here."
"So where is here?"
"Your new home."
It didn't seem like I'd get anywhere with that line of questioning. "So what the blazes am I doing 'here'?"
"You have been chosen."
I blinked. "Me? Chosen? For what?"
"To serve the children."
"Children? What children? The chosen children?" I'd heard the stories of the chosen children, a group of human children who partnered with Digimon, allowing them to digivolve and battle all sorts of evils. To become the partner of one of the chosen children was the dream of many Digimon. But wasn't there one human to a Digimon?
"The special children."
"When do I meet them?"
"When you have been modified." The voice was too pleasant sounding for my taste.
"By modified. . . do you mean digivolving?"
"Nooooo." Whoever it was sounded rather condescending. "When you have been made safe for the children."
"Wait a minute! What the hell are you talking about?"
"Currently, you are too dangerous for our special children. We do not want them to be hurt when you are taking care of them. Therefore, you will be made safe."
"No one's going to make me 'safe for the children!'" I snarled angrily.
"You will sleep. You will feel better when you wake up."
"Don't even come near me!" I shouted, though nothing was in the featureless, gray room but myself. "Blowing wind!" With all the force I could muster, I used my trunk to blow up a storm. The room had been built strong enough to withstand gale force winds. All I accomplished was blowing myself into a wall and knocking myself out.
---
When I next came to, I felt. . . strange. . . not myself. I seemed to be in the same room as before. But everything seemed. . . taller. That was when I discovered I couldn't move my head. It had been fixed into place. My eyes seemed to be on movable stalks though, allowing me about a hundred and eighty degrees of vision. I could look up to the ceiling, directly to the right and left, and straight down to the floor. MY WHEELS! I COULDN'T SEE MY WHEELS! I began to panic and started to move around. Sighing in momentary relief, I realized my wheels were still there, but lower under my body. My huge, twelve-inch diameter, all terrain wheels had been replaced something that seemed far smaller. I tried to feel around with my trunk, then realized the end had been trimmed in a stiff, brush-like fiber.
I tried to scream, to call someone for help, and to my horror discovered that I no longer had a mouth. Or a voice. Only a strange, metallic noise answered my audio sensors when I moved my eyes or trunk.
What had they done to me? Why had they done this? These children I was to serve obviously couldn't be the chosen children, otherwise I wouldn't have effectively been neutralized like this. I tried to blow, but it came out no harder than a gentle puff. My sucking ability was also greatly reduced, but not as much as my blowing. As hard as I could I rolled at one of the walls to try and break through. I couldn't get the same speed I used to. All I managed to do was bump the wall.
"You're awake. That's very, very good," said the voice in its bland way.
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME YOU FREAK?" I wanted to scream, but all that came out were a few clicks and grinds.
"Now you're safe enough to take care of the children." I would have glared at the source of the voice, but there was no speaker or other way for the voice to enter. "You will have a very special job. Your job is to keep the home nice and tidy. The children can't live in a messy home. But before we meet the children, would you like to see what you look like?"
I rolled my eyes. How did the voice think I was going to respond? I couldn't nod or speak. The best I could do was move my trunk and eyes.
"Very well. A mirror will soon show you how wonderful you look." Suddenly a floor length mirror appeared out of nowhere. I cautiously approached it.
"As you will see, you have been modified so that you can do your job better. The brush on your trunk will make it easier to clean up the dirt. Your trunk has also been attached to your mouth instead of your nose so that you will process what you clean more efficiently while your former smelling ability has been redirected to a special sensor. Of course, your voice module has been removed so you will not be able to say anything inappropriate to our children's sensitive ears. . ." As I stared at the reflection in soundless horror, the voice continued to tell me what modifications had been performed on me. I wanted to shake my head in disbelief but I no longer had any neck. My trunk didn't even look like my trunk anymore. It was like a piece of plastic tubing with a huge brush at the end. For some unknown reason, perhaps whimsy of those who had "remodeled" me, I had another brush on the top of my head. I tried to circle around and see what they did to the back of me, but I couldn't move my head to look in the mirror and my eye stalks wouldn't allow vision behind me. My wheels were covered at my base, so I couldn't see what other atrocities had been performed on them. Since I couldn't feel my tail's presence any more, I suspected it was no longer there. ". . . And the back of you has been modified to fit into your recharging chamber. If you run out of energy at the wrong time, that would not be in the children's best interest."
Some mechanical aberration stared back in the mirror. "It's not me," I thought. "It's some sort of picture. Or a twisted mirror. It's not me. It's not me. . ." I moved my trunk. The trunk in the mirror moved. I looked up and found myself looking straight up at the gray, featureless ceiling. I tried to blink, but discovered I had no eyelids. Looking back at the mirror, the thing there stared back at me. "This has to be a dream. It's some sort of nightmare. This can't be happening. . ." If I would have still had my voice, my screams would have been heard for miles. Instead, a resounding "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" echoed through my mind.
---
I guess I blacked out. When I came to my senses, I found myself in a new location. Now I was in some sort of dome. Like my previous prison, everything was gray, but this time it wasn't featureless. Windows with flower petal-like panes allowed sunlight inside. Cautiously I explored my surroundings before the voice discovered I was awake. A long, winding slide led from a hole in the center of the dome roof. The slide appeared to be held up by a column probably served some additional purpose, as it has several switches and dials. I found two consoles near a strange round table with four round stools attached to it. Continuing along the circle of the dome, I discovered four small, blue beds, each with a silver blanket folded on top.
Then I discovered it - two gray sliding doors opening out to the world beyond! My chance at freedom lay ahead of me! I rolled closer. When I was five feet from the door, they slid open, giving me my first real site of the outdoors in who-knows-when. Everything looked perfect - too perfect in fact. The grass seemed perfectly manicured. Brightly colored flowers bloomed in carefully placed settings. I discovered I could focus my eyes to see over distances. Some of the flowers were real, others weren't. The baby blue sky featured fluffy, white clouds in specific shapes.
But the sun. . . I froze in my tracks. That was no sun! At least no sun I had ever seen. Cautiously I inched forward another foot so I could see it better. The sun glowed, a perfect yellow-ish orange sphere, with golden rays and soft yellow beams emanating from the edges - a perfect caricature of a sun. With the artificial feel of my surroundings, it didn't surprise me. What did surprise me was the face within the sun. This was no cartoon - this was the face of a human child! It appeared younger than the humans known as the Digidestined. The face seemed to be watching over everything. Was this the being responsible for my entrapment and torture? There was one way to find out.
With the biggest burst of speed I could muster, I rolled towards the open doors. Four feet. Three feet. Two feet. One foot. Just as I could smell the fresh air and feel a breeze upon my trunk, the door slid closed.
"Nooooooo," said the voice. "The outside is for the children." I glared at the doors and bumped my head against them angrily. "Anger is not good. It will scare the children."
"Leave me alone," I thought as I made what I hoped was an angry clicking and grinding noise.
"Vacuumon, move away from the door." I didn't plan on following the directions. I didn't _want_ to follow the order. Next thing I knew, I was rolling backwards. What the hell?!? "You will always do what you are told. This sets a good example for the children. They are being summoned now."
I heard a strange whooshing sound. Looking out the window, I saw a windmill on a tall pole spinning rapidly. Apprehensively I waited. Several long minutes later, the door slid open. I shrank back in horror.
These were no children! To be more specific, they were nothing like the legendary Digidestined children told of in the chronicles of the Digital World. They didn't even resemble Digimon I knew.
There were four of them, ranging from around three to four feet tall. Their faces, though pushed in, were vaguely humanoid. The bodies seemed somewhat pear-shaped, with short, stubby arms and legs. Each one had a silvery-gray box on their stomach areas and some sort of thing protruding from their heads. They looked like they wore one-piece, hooded play suits. If these were the children, I would hate to see the adults.
"Oooooo," they said in unison.
"What dat?" asked one dressed in yellow.
"What dat?" echoed the others. They crowded around me. I tried to back away from them, but found my wheels unable to move.
"Say hello to your new friend," said the voice cheerfully.
"New fwend!" shouted a green suited abberation gleefully.
"New fwen'," lisped the smallest one, who wore red.
"The children introduced themselves to their new friend," said the voice.
"Eh-oh!" they shouted, waving their stumpy arms. I noticed a distinct lisp
"What name?" asked the one in purple. From its larger size, I guessed it was the eldest.
"His name is Vacuumon. He will tidy up the home," explained the voice.
"Vatuma?" The green one tried to say my name.
"No," said the yellow one. "Bacubon."
While the children debated my name, I tried to escape the crush, but found myself unable to move anything but my trunk and eyes.
"The children decided that Vacuumon was too hard to say," said the voice.
"Too hard," agreed the little red one. The rest set up a chorus of "too hard."
"So they decided to give Vacuumon a new name," the voice continued.
"New name!" shouted the purple one.
"New name, new name, new name," chanted the green and yellow ones.
"New? New?" questioned the red one. "New-new?"
The green one's eyes widened. "Noo-noo?" It pointed at me.
"Noo-noo? Noo-noo?" It sounded as if the purple and yellow ones were trying out the sound of the word.
"The children decided to call their new friend the noo-noo." The voice had an eerie finality about it.
"My name is Vacuumon!" I silently shouted, making whatever clicking and grinding noises I could to make my displeasure known.
"The noo-noo liked his new name."
"Fat chance you invisible bastard," I thought. "You might be able to control my body, but not my thoughts." If my eyes could have widened, they would have when I heard a whisper of "we'll see about that" echo in the back of my mind.
"Soon, it was time for custard," announced the voice.
"Custard! Custard!" cheered the children. Three sat down while the green one skipped over to one of the long consoles. By pushing buttons and levers, he retrieved a bowl and filled it with some sort of pink goop. He took it back to the table and another repeated the ridiculously long process.
Finally, only the purple one was left. He picked up his full bowl and carried it to the table.
"Oh no," said the voice. "He's carrying his bowl in one hand. Be careful." The voice was uncomfortably neutral.
"Be cawfu," warned the others. The purple one waved his free hand at them. His bowl began to teeter precariously. He took a step towards the table, chuckling, when the bowl toppled out of his hand, landing all over him and the floor.
The purple one looked down at the goop on himself and went "Eeeeewwww!!!!" I snickered to myself as I watched the scene unfolding.
"What a mess!" said the voice, emphasizing the last word.
"Wattie mess!" chorused the children annoyingly.
"Who is going to clean up the mess?" asked the voice.
"Who keen up?" asked the children.
"Who? Who? Who?" repeated the children.
"The noo-noo tidied up."
"Who? Me?" I thought. "Uh-uh. No way I'm getting anywhere near that disgusting glop. Suddenly, my wheels began to roll forward of their own volition, moving me closer to the mess. I smelled something nauseatingly sweet. As I drew closer, I felt like I would start sucking up everything in sight. I couldn't stop myself! It was as though I had lost control of my body, a reluctant mind watching helplessly as I crept forward. My wheels and my trunk were no longer my own. Then the brush touched a puddle of gooey, pink custard. If I could have retched, I would have as the glop oozed up my trunk and down to my stomach. My mind said pull away, but my trunk continued to slurp up the "custard." The longer it seemed to lay on the floor, the more rubber-like it became. As if that wasn't enough. Once the floor was cleared of the mess, my trunk gravitated towards the purple-suited child and sucked every last bit of goo off of him. He giggled as my brushes tickled his oversized stomach.
"Ooooooo . . ." chorused the children as they watched me "tidy up."
Once the last of the pink goop mess disappeared, I regained control of my body and was able to roll backwards a bit. The one thing I wanted to do was vomit up the vile concoction. However, that simple act appeared to be no longer available to me. I just sat there, nauseated.
"The noo-noo cleaned up everything."
"Noo-noo keen up!" cheered the children. "Yay noo-noo!"
"The children love the noo-noo."
"Love de noo-noo! Big hug!"
If my eyes could have popped out, they would have. All four children circled around me and grabbed me in what would have been a strangle-hold, if I had a neck. I felt like I would suffocate as they all tried to hug me at once. As they did, I noticed a whole lot of jingling and other noises.
"And the children love each other very much."
"BIG HUG!" I was released from their grasp as they began to hug each other.
I wheeled as fast as I was able to the other side of the dome. Once they finished their hugging, the purple one went back for a bowl of that disgusting goop and carefully carried it to the table. I felt sick to my stomach from that "custard," but the children couldn't get enough.
Just as they finished, I heard that strange whirring sound. The children looked outside and saw a windmill spinning rapidly. "Uh-oh," they chorused before dashing out of the house and leaving me alone.
"What did I do to deserve this? Was this a punishment for being such a trickster?" I sat there, brooding over what was happening to me. The voice had proved that it was the one in charge. It spoke and I did, as revolting as it was.
A loud burst of music from outside interrupted my contemplation. The voice appeared otherwise occupied, so I rolled over to one of the windows. The children sat in a grassy area near the dome house. A brightly colored, cylindrical object had appeared on the ground. I found I could zoom in with my eyes. The children clapped as some strange creature danced around inside the cylinder. After a couple of minutes, it stopped dancing. A curtain formed around the cylinder. It floated upwards, then zoomed off into space.
I heard the voice saying something, but as it was talking to the children outside, it was rather indistinct. The face in the sun yawned as it began to set over the mountains. I saw the children marching back, climbing onto the dome. "Bye-bye," called one. Suddenly it came down the slide leading from the hole in the ceiling. I nearly jumped as the one in yellow rolled off the end of the slide, giggling and making a weird bell-like noise. The rest of them followed suit.
"It's time for the children to go to bed," said the voice.
"No, no," complained the children as they shook their heads.
"The children are very, very sleepy."
The one in red yawned. "Vewy sweepy." As soon as that was out of her mouth, the others yawned and agreed with her. They toddled over to the four beds.
"Where noo-noo sleep?" asked the one in yellow.
"The noo-noo found a special place for himself under the slide."
If I had eyelids, I would have blinked in surprise. I had been all over this place before. There was no place for me under the slide. I didn't even realize I was rolling around to one side of the slide. A little upside down U-shaped opening waited for me. Absently I backed into the doorway and positioned myself.
"It's time for everyone to sleep and dream."
Though I had no eye-lids, I felt darkness envelop me.
- - -
Running. . . chasing . . . something chasing me. . . electricity. . . lighting following. . . wants to hurt me. . . safety. . . my safe dome. . . outside is dangerous. . . home is safe. . .
- - -
Everything around me lit up. Had I lids, I would have blinked. My little "chamber" was as bright as day. The small area felt cramped, so I rolled out into the main area. The "children" were still asleep in their beds. I looked out the window and saw the baby sun face rising over a hill. It appeared groggy, but slowly became more alert as the sun rose. By my internal sense of time, it seemed way too early for the sun to rise. It was as if the children only went to sleep about four hours ago.
As the voice apparently wasn't ready for me or their special children, I rolled over to the window and stretched my eyes up to see outside. What I saw made me back away. They were like. . . little Elecmon! I don't know if they were fresh stage or what, but they had long ears and fluffy tails, with grayish brown fur coats. Did Elecmon follow me through? I didn't want to find out, as I knew there was no way I could defend myself from him, let alone escape if he attacked.
Suddenly, a gray metal tube slowly rose up from the floor. Another voice came through, this one feminine yet stern. "Time for the children's exercises," she announced. I rolled over to examine the tube. From the beds, I could hear the children stirring. "Time for the children's exercises," repeated the feminine voice.
"Ohhh no no!" protested the red one as she sat up.
The female voice didn't seem to care about the protest. A strange sort of music began playing as the children yawned and crawled out of bed. "One leg up, one leg down," said the voice firmly. "Other leg up, other leg down. Both arms up, shake them around." Sighing in resignation, the children followed the directions and more. I watched in amusement as the voice made them do the same thing about three times.
When a fourth began, the purple one shouted "Runaway!" The green echoed him, followed by the other two. They ran around in circles, then out the door. Either unaware or oblivious, the voice completed her directions. Then the music stopped and the pipe lowered again.
I decided to roll up to the doorway to see if I could get a glimpse of what the children were doing. Right in front of the door were three of those mini-Elecmon. I put my wheels into reverse as fast as I could.
After a while, it became rather boring. Through the window I could see the children dancing as the baby sun looked on. It cooed and gurgled happily. If I could have shaken my head, I would have. This all had to be a bad dream. The trouble was, when would I wake up?
The dance ended and the children went their separate ways. None were in sight of the window, so I tried to find something to occupy my time. My hose was too rubbery to be able to push the buttons or move the switches. All I could do was experiment with what I could suck up and blow out. Sucking up one of the blankets tickled my. . . well, what used to be my stomach. I quickly spat it out again. To my amazement, it landed on the bed perfectly clean and folded!
I lost track of the amount of time I spent experimenting with this. Next thing I knew, the children had returned and were eating something they called "toast." The voice then sent them off to bed. My own little corner beckoned me, so I rolled into my cubby and went into sleep mode.
---
Angry. . . they want to hurt me. . . ganging up on me. . . chasing me. . . must find help. . .
"Let me help you," said a soothing voice.
need safety. . .
"The dome is safe," said the voice.
safe dome. . .
"Nothing can get you here."
can't get me here. . .
"Nothing can hurt you here."
can't hurt me here. . .
"You can stay here forever if you like."
stay forever. . .
"Do your job and you will be protected."
do my job. . .
"Who are you?"
i am vacuumon. . .
"I'm sorry. You are not the one I can help."
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
---
Day after day I dutifully cleaned up after the children. Sometimes I cleaned a little too well, sucking up some of their toys. The children, after prompting by the voice, chased after me shouting "Naughty noo-noo!" At the voice's command, I spat out the toys. When I tided up their messes of toast or custard, they gathered around me with a "big hug" and coo "We love noo-noo."
---
Night after night I am chased by Elecmon large and small, red and brown. The voice offered me safety, but it rejects me after I answered. Until one night. . .
"Who are you?" the voice asked.
I am the noo-noo. . . I thought. A warm feeling swept over me.
---
I have been in this place an interminable time. There seems to be three days for every one normal day. The children never grow, never talk more than baby talk, and seldom do anything other than what the voices tell them to. I do my best to keep their home neat and tidy. The voice promised that if I do a good job of cleaning, it'll keep me safe from the mini Elecmon that await me just outside. I go into sleep mode as infrequently as possible. Nightmares of powerful creatures haunt me then.
Over time, I came to realize the purpose of our existence in this world. The children and I were there simply to entertain the baby sun. The two voices we hear belong to the sun's caretakers. We exist solely to make the baby sun happy. I don't know if the children came to this world like I did, or whether they were always here. I can't ask them and I doubt they would be able to tell me.
My past is becoming a distant dream, filled with strange and frightening creatures that chased me endlessly and wanted to hurt me. Here, I am safe and secure. Nowadays I only vaguely remember life before.
"Vacuumon, are you happy?" asked the male voice one day.
"Vacuumon? Who is Vacuumon?" I wondered as I cleaned up some toast crumbs under the table.
Oh. Wait. Vacuumon was someone I knew in the distant past. I don't know why the voice called me that.
"Who are you?" a voice echoes in my mind.
Who am I? I am the noo-noo. I happily serve the Teletubbies to the best of my abilities, without question, thought, or argument.
-The End-
Author's Notes:
Okay, this story is rather different. How did it come about? Well, at 6:30 AM here in Dallas, the only things on TV are the news, religious programs, infomercials, and Teletubbies. So for the entire school year, I've been watching Teletubbies. I don't know why, but I became intrigued by 2 things. First was "the noo-noo" - the vacuum like creature that cleans up the Teletubbies' home. Then there was the voice. The Teletubbies did almost everything the voice told them, even if they didn't always want to do it.
After a few weeks of watching the noo-noo, I started trying to get inside its head and wondered what it was thinking when it watched "the children" doing whatever they did. Slowly this fic idea evolved. But somehow, I liked the idea of referring to them as "the children" better. And so, "the noo-noo" became a Digimon named Vacuumon, captured and modified. . . his life becoming a "descent into hell."
Thanks to Ryo-shin for the last line, and to Jon Rowbottom, Susan, Renn, Fenix, and Jason for reading over this at varying stages.
By Time Lady
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Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained within.
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I should have listened. Other Digimon said not to get to close to those strange spatial disturbances that appeared from time to time. But did I listen? No. And so began my descent into hell.
---
I was always too mischievous for my own good. Whatever I could find I would try to vacuum up into my trunk. Sometimes I'd blow things away, right out from under someone's nose just for the fun of it. "Vacuumon," they would tell me, "you're really going to get yourself into trouble one day."
Of course I didn't listen. That wouldn't have been any fun. Along one of the plateaus these strange. . . rifts, I guess you'd call them. . . began appearing out of nowhere. No one could explain them. In fact, no one wanted to get near them. Except me. I'd roll up on my massive treaded wheels and circle them, despite the warnings everyone shouted. This went on for several days.
After a while I made a game of it. Just as an Elecmon was about to eat a huge pile of ripe berries he had laid out on a leaf, I sucked them up with my vacuuming trunk. "Why you. . . it took me an hour to pick those! SPARKLING THUNDER!"
My all-terrain wheels sped me out of there as fast as they could. An angry Elecmon was not a pretty site. He was close on my tail, so I headed for the one place I knew he wouldn't follow. That was where I made my mistake. I was moving as quickly as I could when I decided to see how close Elecmon was behind me.
I never saw the rift.
---
"Good morning," said a rather bland voice, even, male voice. I opened my eyes to find myself in a gray room.
"Where am I?"
"Your new home."
"Where is that supposed to be?"
"Here."
"So where is here?"
"Your new home."
It didn't seem like I'd get anywhere with that line of questioning. "So what the blazes am I doing 'here'?"
"You have been chosen."
I blinked. "Me? Chosen? For what?"
"To serve the children."
"Children? What children? The chosen children?" I'd heard the stories of the chosen children, a group of human children who partnered with Digimon, allowing them to digivolve and battle all sorts of evils. To become the partner of one of the chosen children was the dream of many Digimon. But wasn't there one human to a Digimon?
"The special children."
"When do I meet them?"
"When you have been modified." The voice was too pleasant sounding for my taste.
"By modified. . . do you mean digivolving?"
"Nooooo." Whoever it was sounded rather condescending. "When you have been made safe for the children."
"Wait a minute! What the hell are you talking about?"
"Currently, you are too dangerous for our special children. We do not want them to be hurt when you are taking care of them. Therefore, you will be made safe."
"No one's going to make me 'safe for the children!'" I snarled angrily.
"You will sleep. You will feel better when you wake up."
"Don't even come near me!" I shouted, though nothing was in the featureless, gray room but myself. "Blowing wind!" With all the force I could muster, I used my trunk to blow up a storm. The room had been built strong enough to withstand gale force winds. All I accomplished was blowing myself into a wall and knocking myself out.
---
When I next came to, I felt. . . strange. . . not myself. I seemed to be in the same room as before. But everything seemed. . . taller. That was when I discovered I couldn't move my head. It had been fixed into place. My eyes seemed to be on movable stalks though, allowing me about a hundred and eighty degrees of vision. I could look up to the ceiling, directly to the right and left, and straight down to the floor. MY WHEELS! I COULDN'T SEE MY WHEELS! I began to panic and started to move around. Sighing in momentary relief, I realized my wheels were still there, but lower under my body. My huge, twelve-inch diameter, all terrain wheels had been replaced something that seemed far smaller. I tried to feel around with my trunk, then realized the end had been trimmed in a stiff, brush-like fiber.
I tried to scream, to call someone for help, and to my horror discovered that I no longer had a mouth. Or a voice. Only a strange, metallic noise answered my audio sensors when I moved my eyes or trunk.
What had they done to me? Why had they done this? These children I was to serve obviously couldn't be the chosen children, otherwise I wouldn't have effectively been neutralized like this. I tried to blow, but it came out no harder than a gentle puff. My sucking ability was also greatly reduced, but not as much as my blowing. As hard as I could I rolled at one of the walls to try and break through. I couldn't get the same speed I used to. All I managed to do was bump the wall.
"You're awake. That's very, very good," said the voice in its bland way.
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME YOU FREAK?" I wanted to scream, but all that came out were a few clicks and grinds.
"Now you're safe enough to take care of the children." I would have glared at the source of the voice, but there was no speaker or other way for the voice to enter. "You will have a very special job. Your job is to keep the home nice and tidy. The children can't live in a messy home. But before we meet the children, would you like to see what you look like?"
I rolled my eyes. How did the voice think I was going to respond? I couldn't nod or speak. The best I could do was move my trunk and eyes.
"Very well. A mirror will soon show you how wonderful you look." Suddenly a floor length mirror appeared out of nowhere. I cautiously approached it.
"As you will see, you have been modified so that you can do your job better. The brush on your trunk will make it easier to clean up the dirt. Your trunk has also been attached to your mouth instead of your nose so that you will process what you clean more efficiently while your former smelling ability has been redirected to a special sensor. Of course, your voice module has been removed so you will not be able to say anything inappropriate to our children's sensitive ears. . ." As I stared at the reflection in soundless horror, the voice continued to tell me what modifications had been performed on me. I wanted to shake my head in disbelief but I no longer had any neck. My trunk didn't even look like my trunk anymore. It was like a piece of plastic tubing with a huge brush at the end. For some unknown reason, perhaps whimsy of those who had "remodeled" me, I had another brush on the top of my head. I tried to circle around and see what they did to the back of me, but I couldn't move my head to look in the mirror and my eye stalks wouldn't allow vision behind me. My wheels were covered at my base, so I couldn't see what other atrocities had been performed on them. Since I couldn't feel my tail's presence any more, I suspected it was no longer there. ". . . And the back of you has been modified to fit into your recharging chamber. If you run out of energy at the wrong time, that would not be in the children's best interest."
Some mechanical aberration stared back in the mirror. "It's not me," I thought. "It's some sort of picture. Or a twisted mirror. It's not me. It's not me. . ." I moved my trunk. The trunk in the mirror moved. I looked up and found myself looking straight up at the gray, featureless ceiling. I tried to blink, but discovered I had no eyelids. Looking back at the mirror, the thing there stared back at me. "This has to be a dream. It's some sort of nightmare. This can't be happening. . ." If I would have still had my voice, my screams would have been heard for miles. Instead, a resounding "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" echoed through my mind.
---
I guess I blacked out. When I came to my senses, I found myself in a new location. Now I was in some sort of dome. Like my previous prison, everything was gray, but this time it wasn't featureless. Windows with flower petal-like panes allowed sunlight inside. Cautiously I explored my surroundings before the voice discovered I was awake. A long, winding slide led from a hole in the center of the dome roof. The slide appeared to be held up by a column probably served some additional purpose, as it has several switches and dials. I found two consoles near a strange round table with four round stools attached to it. Continuing along the circle of the dome, I discovered four small, blue beds, each with a silver blanket folded on top.
Then I discovered it - two gray sliding doors opening out to the world beyond! My chance at freedom lay ahead of me! I rolled closer. When I was five feet from the door, they slid open, giving me my first real site of the outdoors in who-knows-when. Everything looked perfect - too perfect in fact. The grass seemed perfectly manicured. Brightly colored flowers bloomed in carefully placed settings. I discovered I could focus my eyes to see over distances. Some of the flowers were real, others weren't. The baby blue sky featured fluffy, white clouds in specific shapes.
But the sun. . . I froze in my tracks. That was no sun! At least no sun I had ever seen. Cautiously I inched forward another foot so I could see it better. The sun glowed, a perfect yellow-ish orange sphere, with golden rays and soft yellow beams emanating from the edges - a perfect caricature of a sun. With the artificial feel of my surroundings, it didn't surprise me. What did surprise me was the face within the sun. This was no cartoon - this was the face of a human child! It appeared younger than the humans known as the Digidestined. The face seemed to be watching over everything. Was this the being responsible for my entrapment and torture? There was one way to find out.
With the biggest burst of speed I could muster, I rolled towards the open doors. Four feet. Three feet. Two feet. One foot. Just as I could smell the fresh air and feel a breeze upon my trunk, the door slid closed.
"Nooooooo," said the voice. "The outside is for the children." I glared at the doors and bumped my head against them angrily. "Anger is not good. It will scare the children."
"Leave me alone," I thought as I made what I hoped was an angry clicking and grinding noise.
"Vacuumon, move away from the door." I didn't plan on following the directions. I didn't _want_ to follow the order. Next thing I knew, I was rolling backwards. What the hell?!? "You will always do what you are told. This sets a good example for the children. They are being summoned now."
I heard a strange whooshing sound. Looking out the window, I saw a windmill on a tall pole spinning rapidly. Apprehensively I waited. Several long minutes later, the door slid open. I shrank back in horror.
These were no children! To be more specific, they were nothing like the legendary Digidestined children told of in the chronicles of the Digital World. They didn't even resemble Digimon I knew.
There were four of them, ranging from around three to four feet tall. Their faces, though pushed in, were vaguely humanoid. The bodies seemed somewhat pear-shaped, with short, stubby arms and legs. Each one had a silvery-gray box on their stomach areas and some sort of thing protruding from their heads. They looked like they wore one-piece, hooded play suits. If these were the children, I would hate to see the adults.
"Oooooo," they said in unison.
"What dat?" asked one dressed in yellow.
"What dat?" echoed the others. They crowded around me. I tried to back away from them, but found my wheels unable to move.
"Say hello to your new friend," said the voice cheerfully.
"New fwend!" shouted a green suited abberation gleefully.
"New fwen'," lisped the smallest one, who wore red.
"The children introduced themselves to their new friend," said the voice.
"Eh-oh!" they shouted, waving their stumpy arms. I noticed a distinct lisp
"What name?" asked the one in purple. From its larger size, I guessed it was the eldest.
"His name is Vacuumon. He will tidy up the home," explained the voice.
"Vatuma?" The green one tried to say my name.
"No," said the yellow one. "Bacubon."
While the children debated my name, I tried to escape the crush, but found myself unable to move anything but my trunk and eyes.
"The children decided that Vacuumon was too hard to say," said the voice.
"Too hard," agreed the little red one. The rest set up a chorus of "too hard."
"So they decided to give Vacuumon a new name," the voice continued.
"New name!" shouted the purple one.
"New name, new name, new name," chanted the green and yellow ones.
"New? New?" questioned the red one. "New-new?"
The green one's eyes widened. "Noo-noo?" It pointed at me.
"Noo-noo? Noo-noo?" It sounded as if the purple and yellow ones were trying out the sound of the word.
"The children decided to call their new friend the noo-noo." The voice had an eerie finality about it.
"My name is Vacuumon!" I silently shouted, making whatever clicking and grinding noises I could to make my displeasure known.
"The noo-noo liked his new name."
"Fat chance you invisible bastard," I thought. "You might be able to control my body, but not my thoughts." If my eyes could have widened, they would have when I heard a whisper of "we'll see about that" echo in the back of my mind.
"Soon, it was time for custard," announced the voice.
"Custard! Custard!" cheered the children. Three sat down while the green one skipped over to one of the long consoles. By pushing buttons and levers, he retrieved a bowl and filled it with some sort of pink goop. He took it back to the table and another repeated the ridiculously long process.
Finally, only the purple one was left. He picked up his full bowl and carried it to the table.
"Oh no," said the voice. "He's carrying his bowl in one hand. Be careful." The voice was uncomfortably neutral.
"Be cawfu," warned the others. The purple one waved his free hand at them. His bowl began to teeter precariously. He took a step towards the table, chuckling, when the bowl toppled out of his hand, landing all over him and the floor.
The purple one looked down at the goop on himself and went "Eeeeewwww!!!!" I snickered to myself as I watched the scene unfolding.
"What a mess!" said the voice, emphasizing the last word.
"Wattie mess!" chorused the children annoyingly.
"Who is going to clean up the mess?" asked the voice.
"Who keen up?" asked the children.
"Who? Who? Who?" repeated the children.
"The noo-noo tidied up."
"Who? Me?" I thought. "Uh-uh. No way I'm getting anywhere near that disgusting glop. Suddenly, my wheels began to roll forward of their own volition, moving me closer to the mess. I smelled something nauseatingly sweet. As I drew closer, I felt like I would start sucking up everything in sight. I couldn't stop myself! It was as though I had lost control of my body, a reluctant mind watching helplessly as I crept forward. My wheels and my trunk were no longer my own. Then the brush touched a puddle of gooey, pink custard. If I could have retched, I would have as the glop oozed up my trunk and down to my stomach. My mind said pull away, but my trunk continued to slurp up the "custard." The longer it seemed to lay on the floor, the more rubber-like it became. As if that wasn't enough. Once the floor was cleared of the mess, my trunk gravitated towards the purple-suited child and sucked every last bit of goo off of him. He giggled as my brushes tickled his oversized stomach.
"Ooooooo . . ." chorused the children as they watched me "tidy up."
Once the last of the pink goop mess disappeared, I regained control of my body and was able to roll backwards a bit. The one thing I wanted to do was vomit up the vile concoction. However, that simple act appeared to be no longer available to me. I just sat there, nauseated.
"The noo-noo cleaned up everything."
"Noo-noo keen up!" cheered the children. "Yay noo-noo!"
"The children love the noo-noo."
"Love de noo-noo! Big hug!"
If my eyes could have popped out, they would have. All four children circled around me and grabbed me in what would have been a strangle-hold, if I had a neck. I felt like I would suffocate as they all tried to hug me at once. As they did, I noticed a whole lot of jingling and other noises.
"And the children love each other very much."
"BIG HUG!" I was released from their grasp as they began to hug each other.
I wheeled as fast as I was able to the other side of the dome. Once they finished their hugging, the purple one went back for a bowl of that disgusting goop and carefully carried it to the table. I felt sick to my stomach from that "custard," but the children couldn't get enough.
Just as they finished, I heard that strange whirring sound. The children looked outside and saw a windmill spinning rapidly. "Uh-oh," they chorused before dashing out of the house and leaving me alone.
"What did I do to deserve this? Was this a punishment for being such a trickster?" I sat there, brooding over what was happening to me. The voice had proved that it was the one in charge. It spoke and I did, as revolting as it was.
A loud burst of music from outside interrupted my contemplation. The voice appeared otherwise occupied, so I rolled over to one of the windows. The children sat in a grassy area near the dome house. A brightly colored, cylindrical object had appeared on the ground. I found I could zoom in with my eyes. The children clapped as some strange creature danced around inside the cylinder. After a couple of minutes, it stopped dancing. A curtain formed around the cylinder. It floated upwards, then zoomed off into space.
I heard the voice saying something, but as it was talking to the children outside, it was rather indistinct. The face in the sun yawned as it began to set over the mountains. I saw the children marching back, climbing onto the dome. "Bye-bye," called one. Suddenly it came down the slide leading from the hole in the ceiling. I nearly jumped as the one in yellow rolled off the end of the slide, giggling and making a weird bell-like noise. The rest of them followed suit.
"It's time for the children to go to bed," said the voice.
"No, no," complained the children as they shook their heads.
"The children are very, very sleepy."
The one in red yawned. "Vewy sweepy." As soon as that was out of her mouth, the others yawned and agreed with her. They toddled over to the four beds.
"Where noo-noo sleep?" asked the one in yellow.
"The noo-noo found a special place for himself under the slide."
If I had eyelids, I would have blinked in surprise. I had been all over this place before. There was no place for me under the slide. I didn't even realize I was rolling around to one side of the slide. A little upside down U-shaped opening waited for me. Absently I backed into the doorway and positioned myself.
"It's time for everyone to sleep and dream."
Though I had no eye-lids, I felt darkness envelop me.
- - -
Running. . . chasing . . . something chasing me. . . electricity. . . lighting following. . . wants to hurt me. . . safety. . . my safe dome. . . outside is dangerous. . . home is safe. . .
- - -
Everything around me lit up. Had I lids, I would have blinked. My little "chamber" was as bright as day. The small area felt cramped, so I rolled out into the main area. The "children" were still asleep in their beds. I looked out the window and saw the baby sun face rising over a hill. It appeared groggy, but slowly became more alert as the sun rose. By my internal sense of time, it seemed way too early for the sun to rise. It was as if the children only went to sleep about four hours ago.
As the voice apparently wasn't ready for me or their special children, I rolled over to the window and stretched my eyes up to see outside. What I saw made me back away. They were like. . . little Elecmon! I don't know if they were fresh stage or what, but they had long ears and fluffy tails, with grayish brown fur coats. Did Elecmon follow me through? I didn't want to find out, as I knew there was no way I could defend myself from him, let alone escape if he attacked.
Suddenly, a gray metal tube slowly rose up from the floor. Another voice came through, this one feminine yet stern. "Time for the children's exercises," she announced. I rolled over to examine the tube. From the beds, I could hear the children stirring. "Time for the children's exercises," repeated the feminine voice.
"Ohhh no no!" protested the red one as she sat up.
The female voice didn't seem to care about the protest. A strange sort of music began playing as the children yawned and crawled out of bed. "One leg up, one leg down," said the voice firmly. "Other leg up, other leg down. Both arms up, shake them around." Sighing in resignation, the children followed the directions and more. I watched in amusement as the voice made them do the same thing about three times.
When a fourth began, the purple one shouted "Runaway!" The green echoed him, followed by the other two. They ran around in circles, then out the door. Either unaware or oblivious, the voice completed her directions. Then the music stopped and the pipe lowered again.
I decided to roll up to the doorway to see if I could get a glimpse of what the children were doing. Right in front of the door were three of those mini-Elecmon. I put my wheels into reverse as fast as I could.
After a while, it became rather boring. Through the window I could see the children dancing as the baby sun looked on. It cooed and gurgled happily. If I could have shaken my head, I would have. This all had to be a bad dream. The trouble was, when would I wake up?
The dance ended and the children went their separate ways. None were in sight of the window, so I tried to find something to occupy my time. My hose was too rubbery to be able to push the buttons or move the switches. All I could do was experiment with what I could suck up and blow out. Sucking up one of the blankets tickled my. . . well, what used to be my stomach. I quickly spat it out again. To my amazement, it landed on the bed perfectly clean and folded!
I lost track of the amount of time I spent experimenting with this. Next thing I knew, the children had returned and were eating something they called "toast." The voice then sent them off to bed. My own little corner beckoned me, so I rolled into my cubby and went into sleep mode.
---
Angry. . . they want to hurt me. . . ganging up on me. . . chasing me. . . must find help. . .
"Let me help you," said a soothing voice.
need safety. . .
"The dome is safe," said the voice.
safe dome. . .
"Nothing can get you here."
can't get me here. . .
"Nothing can hurt you here."
can't hurt me here. . .
"You can stay here forever if you like."
stay forever. . .
"Do your job and you will be protected."
do my job. . .
"Who are you?"
i am vacuumon. . .
"I'm sorry. You are not the one I can help."
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
---
Day after day I dutifully cleaned up after the children. Sometimes I cleaned a little too well, sucking up some of their toys. The children, after prompting by the voice, chased after me shouting "Naughty noo-noo!" At the voice's command, I spat out the toys. When I tided up their messes of toast or custard, they gathered around me with a "big hug" and coo "We love noo-noo."
---
Night after night I am chased by Elecmon large and small, red and brown. The voice offered me safety, but it rejects me after I answered. Until one night. . .
"Who are you?" the voice asked.
I am the noo-noo. . . I thought. A warm feeling swept over me.
---
I have been in this place an interminable time. There seems to be three days for every one normal day. The children never grow, never talk more than baby talk, and seldom do anything other than what the voices tell them to. I do my best to keep their home neat and tidy. The voice promised that if I do a good job of cleaning, it'll keep me safe from the mini Elecmon that await me just outside. I go into sleep mode as infrequently as possible. Nightmares of powerful creatures haunt me then.
Over time, I came to realize the purpose of our existence in this world. The children and I were there simply to entertain the baby sun. The two voices we hear belong to the sun's caretakers. We exist solely to make the baby sun happy. I don't know if the children came to this world like I did, or whether they were always here. I can't ask them and I doubt they would be able to tell me.
My past is becoming a distant dream, filled with strange and frightening creatures that chased me endlessly and wanted to hurt me. Here, I am safe and secure. Nowadays I only vaguely remember life before.
"Vacuumon, are you happy?" asked the male voice one day.
"Vacuumon? Who is Vacuumon?" I wondered as I cleaned up some toast crumbs under the table.
Oh. Wait. Vacuumon was someone I knew in the distant past. I don't know why the voice called me that.
"Who are you?" a voice echoes in my mind.
Who am I? I am the noo-noo. I happily serve the Teletubbies to the best of my abilities, without question, thought, or argument.
-The End-
Author's Notes:
Okay, this story is rather different. How did it come about? Well, at 6:30 AM here in Dallas, the only things on TV are the news, religious programs, infomercials, and Teletubbies. So for the entire school year, I've been watching Teletubbies. I don't know why, but I became intrigued by 2 things. First was "the noo-noo" - the vacuum like creature that cleans up the Teletubbies' home. Then there was the voice. The Teletubbies did almost everything the voice told them, even if they didn't always want to do it.
After a few weeks of watching the noo-noo, I started trying to get inside its head and wondered what it was thinking when it watched "the children" doing whatever they did. Slowly this fic idea evolved. But somehow, I liked the idea of referring to them as "the children" better. And so, "the noo-noo" became a Digimon named Vacuumon, captured and modified. . . his life becoming a "descent into hell."
Thanks to Ryo-shin for the last line, and to Jon Rowbottom, Susan, Renn, Fenix, and Jason for reading over this at varying stages.