Part 5: The DarkDestined
"What will we tell the medics when they get here?" Sora asked. The children had already called 911 and were waiting outside.
"My first impression was a hit-and-run accident," Izzy said.
"Mine too," Joe added.
"Hmm...sounds good," Tai said. "Do we all agree on that?"
Everyone nodded, so that was the explanation that they gave when the ambulance arrived to take Casia away.
"No hit-and-run could do this," Matt heard one of the medics say. "Look at the poor kid--at least two broken ribs, broken or badly sprained ankle--and check out her wrist! Scars, too--look like they were made by electricity. And this cut on her head...looks like it was slammed against a wall or something."
The digidestined exchanged guilty looks as the other man added, "And see how she's shivering!"
Almost too soon it was time for everyone to go home. Matt and T.K. volunteered to stay with Ken for the night since he didn't look too good. Kari donated an old aquarium to keep Chieko in, although the snake obviously couldn't go anywhere.
At some point that night, Matt woke up to hear Ken's voice. The younger child was talking in his sleep. "Wormmon...no...I'm so sorry...all my fault..."
~Was Ken more deeply affected by this than we thought?~ Matt wondered as the boy continued to mutter his digimon's name. "Yo, T.K., wake up!"
"Huh whaaa?"
"T.K., are you awake?"
"Huh? Oh. Yeah, I'm up...no thanks to you."
"No sarcasm, squirt."
T.K. suddenly seemed to snap to his senses. "What's Ken talking about?"
"He's still asleep, 'Keru-chan. I think DarkStingmon really made him feel bad about Wormmon or something."
"I still say we should go to Primary Village."
"Yeah, kiddo, I agree with you."
T.K. opened his mouth to say something but then closed it as Ken mumbled, "Brother..."
"Ken has a BROTHER?" Matt asked.
"I guess," T.K. answered. "But I've never heard of one..."
"Hey, T.K., I saw a computer in the living room. Go on-line...see if there's some sort of site he created. Not in here, the light might wake him up."
T.K. looked puzzled, but did as his older brother asked. Matt immediately walked over to Ken and gently shook him. "Ken, wake up for a sec."
"What is it?" Ken asked sleepily, sitting up.
"You were talking about Wormmon in your sleep, and you mentioned a brother. Is something wrong? You know we're here for you."
Ken's eyes widened. "I said something about--never mind. No, nothing's wrong. I'm sure I'll live. You can go back to sleep now."
Matt shook his head and got back into his sleeping bag. ~Ken is definitely hiding something,~ he thought. ~Now the question is, What?~
~*~
The digidestined gathered outside Odaiba Memorial Hospital at eleven o' clock the next morning. T.K. was still giving Matt weird glances since his brother hadn't seemed interested in what he learned...which was basically nothing, actually.
"Who are ya here ta see?" the woman on duty asked, popping a bubble she made with a wad of gum.
"Acacia Kaminara," Tai answered.
"You friends o' hers?"
"Yeah."
"Room 207. Visiting hours end at three, remember."
The children nodded and walked over to the elevator. Miyako pressed the button and they waited until the car FINALLY came. The people coming out stared at the kids--it isn't often you see twelve healthy kids in a hospital at the same time. Ken DID still look slightly pale, but he was definitely recovering.
"Here it is. Room 207," Mimi said a moment later.
Just then, a doctor came out of the next room. He stared at Chieko, hanging around Joe's neck at the moment, and then said, "Y'know, this is a PEOPLE hospital. The vet's office is on the next street over."
"She's not hurting anything," Kari said quickly. "She belongs to the patient in this room. We thought they would enjoy seeing each other."
"Sure. Whatever." The doctor walked away, not seeing any harm in letting the kids have their fun.
"That was close," Daisuke said. "Let's go in." The digidestined filed into Casia's room. A nurse was just coming out, so Sora asked how Casia was doing.
"Poor little girl," the young woman said sympathetically. "As I understand, she had a lot of broken bones--three ribs, her ankle, her wrist, and a small fracture to the collarbone. Electrical burns all over for some reason, too, and a big gash on the back of her head. Oh yes, and she had a split lip. It'll take several months for her to fully heal."
"That's harsh," Izzy said, for once not using a big word.
"Major harsh," Iori agreed. The young nurse walked away and the kids gathered near Casia. Suddenly Chieko began to fight Joe, twisting and trying to get at her partner.
"Chieko--no--you'll get in trouble--" Joe said brokenly as he wrestled with her. "Jeez, Chieko, what is WRONG with you? I wish she was a proper digimon and could talk..."
The reptile broke away from Joe and lashed out at her friend, biting her non-broken wrist. The digidestined gasped, more from wonder than shock.
Casia was glowing, simply put. A deep purple glow surrounded her entire form, and before the kids' eyes, her injuries healed. Had anyone happened to walk past the open door at that moment--which no one did--they would have seen the miracle, and probably run screaming.
A few moments later, Casia opened her eyes and looked at her friends. But her eyes were no longer a deep brown--they were glowing red. Mimi shrieked. "Look! A Dark Spiral!"
"It's okay," Ken said calmly. He placed one finger on her wrist and quickly muttered three words that no one could hear.
Nothing happened.
"I don't get it! That should have deleted the Spiral!" he said in horror, jumping back. Chieko flew into his arms.
"Someone else is controlling it, though," Izzy said. "It isn't Alizamon, so who?"
Casia said in a toneless voice, "I will destroy the digidestined."
"I bet ya anything it's a DarkDestined!" T.K. cried as the twelve backed up. "She's so nice they have to make her do what they want!"
The others shouted, "I AGREE!" at the same time.
"So what do we do?" Matt asked.
"Running sounds good right now," Miyako said as Casia leapt out of bed and started walking toward them. She was still in her bloodstained clothes because the medics hadn't dared to remove them and give her the standard hospital gown.
"Everyone, I think if we all say it at the same time it might work!" Ken called. "Repeat after me--Donsu kien no!"
"Donsu kien no! Donsu kien no!" they all shouted.
"What does THAT mean?" Chibimon asked. The digimon had by now popped out of the backpacks.
"I made it up! Donsu kien no!"
"Donsu kien no! Donsu kien no!"
"Keep saying it," Ken reminded his friends as he ran forward to touch the Spiral again. "Together!"
"DONSU KIEN NO!"
The Spiral snapped. Casia sank to the floor and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they were once more brown.
"What--where am I?"
"Casia! You're back to normal!" Daisuke exclaimed.
"Um, yeah...why wouldn't I be?" She looked around. "Why are we HERE?"
"We rescued you and defeated Alizamon, but then we had to get you to a hospital. Chieko healed you, but you were controlled by a Dark Spiral," Joe said.
"Oh." Casia stood shakily. "Now what?"
"I dunno," Tai said. "We can't let ANYONE know about what just happened. It ties in too closely with our mission, which has to be kept a secret."
The other digidestined nodded. Suddenly Gatomon said, "I think if we digimon combine our powers we could make a memory-erase attack or something. You guys would still know, however."
Chibimon nodded. "Sounds good!"
Patamon grinned. "Yep! Let's try it!" The five digimon closed their eyes and began to concentrate.
"Psychic Memory Erase!" all five shouted at once. A green swirl surrounded the digidestined and Casia, then expanded outwards. About a minute later a white flash of light pierced the room, and when it cleared, Casia's clothing was normal again.
"Weird," Joe said simply. "Waaaaaaaaay weird!"
"No memory of the whole thing whatsoever!" Poromon said happily. "Just don't ask us to do it again, it's very draining!"
Suddenly Casia gasped and vanished. Ken followed soon after.
"What was THAT?" Kari asked fearfully.
"They were called to the Digital World," Izzy said instantly. "Casia because the DarkDestined know she won't come alone, and Ken--well, anyone got any ideas?"
"What reason could anyone have for wanting ONE digidestined in the Digiworld?" Sora asked. "Ken has no digimon. He has no crest. Heck, he doesn't even have a real digivice!"
"Well, let's go to the Digiworld and help him, then," Mimi said somewhat fiercely. Everyone else nodded.
~*~
"Ken! Casia! Where are they?" Daisuke asked. All the digimon were at their highest level, and those who couldn't fly were riding on others as they searched the Digiworld.
"KEN!" T.K. called out. "Casia! They have to be here SOMEWHERE."
"Wait a second," Iori said. "I see something down there!"
"It's Ken!" Miyako said in relief. "KEN!" The boy looked up and grinned as his friends landed around him. "Hi! What took you so long?"
"What happened to you? You--and Casia--you vanished!" Tai said.
"Oh, that. Well--you see--er, Gennai called us! Yeah. Casia--I don't know where she went."
"You saw Gennai? What did he say?" Izzy asked.
"Um...he said that the DarkDestined are...somewhere else. We're safe here..."
"Not very interesting," Joe said. "Aw, well, you're okay, and that's what matters."
"Yup!"
Matt looked thoughtful. "Ken, you sound like you have no clue what you're talking about, like you're making everything up. What happened?"
Fear evident in his blue eyes, Ken took a small step backwards. "Weeeeeeeeell...you see..."
"Tell us what happened, Ken," Iori said.
Suddenly a malicious grin lit the young boy's face. "That's the Digimon Kaizer to you!" he said. "I will rule this world and ours!"
"Huh?"
Ken pulled his fist back and punched Matt. The older child fell backward into Tai. "Hey! What was that for?!"
"I told you, I have once again become the Digimon Kaizer! Hey, Yamato, remember what I said about my brother?" Matt nodded slowly, and Ken continued, "Well--"
All of a sudden, he gasped and stopped talking. It looked like he was fighting inside himself.
~Ken, what in Digiworld is going on?!~
~*~
Ken slowly opened his eyes and took a look around. He was in some sort of dark forest, lit dimly by something. It was cold. Ken wrapped his arms around his body and shivered.
~So. You are Ken Ichijouji, kid genius.~
"Who are you?" Ken asked. "Where am I?"
~Imprisoned in your own mind. You can see what you would normally see, but I alone control your actions.~
"But how?"
~Look down.~ Ken obeyed and saw a Dark Spiral on his leg. It was partially hidden by his pants leg, and if he stood it would be invisible to everyone else.
~Know now, Ken Ichijouji, that I am your worst enemy--Tashino Aiko, leader of the DarkDestined.~
"No!" Ken cried.
~Forget escaping. We're going to play a little trick on your so-called friends. A fun trick to make them think you are the Digimon Kaizer again. And don't think they can tell by your eyes--I made some modifications after seeing what happened with Casia.~
"Where did you take her? If you hurt her, I'll--"
~Don't make idle threats. You can't hurt me.~ There was a short pause. ~Interesting. I see you feel you killed your little digimon twice. Hmm, and you watched your older brother die. So sad.~
"How did you know--"
~I know every single thing about you. Everything.~
Ken's eyes widened. "NO! Don't you dare tell the others!"
~So you don't want your past ripped open, revealed? Lovely. I think I will. They should be here soon...oh, wait, there they are!~
Ken stood up and ran forward. "There must be a way out!"
~There isn't.~
Suddenly Ken saw his friends, through his own eyes. He tried to tell them to go away, tell them about the Spiral, but all that came out of his physical body was a wave, a grin, and, "Hi! What took you so long?"
"What happened to you? You--and Casia--you vanished!" Tai said, moving forward.
Ken could feel the indecision in Tashino's own mind. ~Huh. Well, we'll just make something up.~ He made Ken open his mouth. Ken tried to resist, but it was impossible.
~I can't believe I did this to hundreds of digimon...~
"Oh, that. Well--you see--er, Gennai called us! Yeah. Casia--I don't know where she went." Tashino breathed a mental sigh of relief.
"You saw Gennai? What did he say?" Izzy asked. Tashino twinged.
~Now what do I say?~
"You think I'm going to help you?" Ken asked sarcastically.
"Um...he said that the DarkDestined are...somewhere else. We're safe here..."
"Not very interesting," Joe said. "Aw, well, you're okay, and that's what matters."
"Yup!"
Matt looked thoughtful. "Ken, you sound like you have no clue what you're talking about, like you're making everything up. What happened?"
Forgetting control, Tashino made Ken take a step backwards. The boy fought, but his feet moved and there was nothing he could do. His physical body was his no longer. Ken was aware of evident fear in his eyes and prayed that the others would notice something.
"Tell us what happened, Ken," Iori said. Tashino smiled.
~Now, THIS is where it gets fun.~
A malicious grin lit the young boy's face. "That's the Digimon Kaizer to you!" he said. "I will rule this world and ours!"
"What are you doing? Let me out, stop it!" Ken yelled.
"Huh?" Ken winced at the sound of betrayal and hurt in his friends' voices.
~I just had a lovely thought,~ Tashino said in Ken's mind. ~Why don't we have you punch Matt? That would be interesting.~
"No! What are you thinking? Matt's my FRIEND!" Ken shouted. He felt Tashino smirk. Against his will, Ken pulled his fist back. "NO!" he said frantically as Tashino forced him to punch Matt.
"Hey! What was that for?!"
More betrayal. More hurt. More pain. More fury. Trapped in his own mind, Ken slid to the ground and buried his face in his hands. ~No...~
"I told you, I have once again become the Digimon Kaizer! Hey, Yamato, remember what I said about my brother?" Matt nodded slowly, and Ken continued, "Well--"
"God, NO! You can't do this to me, you can't, you can't!" Ken wailed. He started to battle again for control of his own body, striking out blindly at nothing in particular. He felt Tashino stop controlling him with a gasp and put his full power on restraining his slave.
~Stop fighting it. You can't win. Maybe we'll have you kill a friend, hmm?~
"NO!" Ken was crying now, crying hard. He felt Tashino recoil from him, and he fell down. He still had no control over himself.
"Look! A Dark Spiral!" he vaguely heard someone say.
"Pepper Breath!"
The Spiral fell away, and the other digidestined watched as a sobbing, gasping, REAL Ken appeared in place of the evil one. "Matt...no...Casia..."
"Ken, you're okay now," Matt said gently, crouching beside his friend. "We forgive you. It wasn't your fault."
"Yes--it--was! I did--that--t-to so many h-helpless digimon--and--and--"
"You're fine now. It's all over," Tai said firmly. "Who was controlling you?"
"The leader of the DarkDestined, Tashino--he was going t-to make me k-kill one of you...and he did something to--to Casia--"
"But it's okay now," Matt said. "None of us got h--really hurt, and you're fine. As Joe said, you're all right, and that's what matters."
T.K. added, "And about that brother--"
Ken's blue eyes widened. "Brother? What brother? Heh heh, I don't have a brother, nope, not me. Let's get going now."
"He's hiding something," Mimi whispered to Izzy as the group set off. Izzy nodded.
"Something about a brother. I guess we have to wait until he decides it's time for us to know," the boy replied.
Suddenly an evil laugh rang out through the desert they were walking in. "I know who that is!" Ken cried. "It's Tashino, the leader of the DarkDestined!"
"Yes, digidestined, it is I and my four faithful minions." Seemingly from nowhere five children appeared.
The first and tallest was obviously Tashino. He had short, dark hair and eyes the exact color of Casia's. Black jeans and a leather jacket over a navy blue T-shirt graced his slim figure.
Next was a girl only about an inch shorter. She had shoulder-length red hair and snapping ice-green eyes. She, too, was wearing all black.
The third DarkDestined was a boy. He looked younger than the first two, but not much younger. He had light brown hair and red eyes, and also wore black.
As if for a change, the next, a girl, wasn't wearing black at all--her color was royal blue. That was the color of her eyes, and she had a blue streak in her blond hair.
Last was Casia. Her deep brown eyes were downcast, her black hair falling limply down her back. Like most of the other children, she was clothed in black.
"Allow me to introduce us. I am the leader--Ken already knows me. My name is Tashino. This is Asha and Erek," he said, pointing to the redhead and the other boy, "as well as our good friend Ai. And now, may I announce--although you know her--Acacia Kaminara, my lovely cousin."
"Casia's his COUSIN?" Miyako gasped.
Tashino grinned evilly. "Yes. My cousin. Isn't that right, Cass?"
Casia raised her head to reveal tear-stained eyes the same color as his and nodded. "Yes, Tashino. We're cousins."
"That's not possible!" Iori said shakily.
"And now, may I introduce our dear little digimon! Kodamon, Digi-Armor Energize!"
Kodamon, a small gray and black Gizamon wearing boxing gloves, started to change. "Kodamon, armor-digivolve to..." He grew considerably into a brown creature, still with boxing gloves, but now with black wings. He hissed and punched the air. "Hitokomon! The Blast of Annihilation!"
Asha moved forward. A small blue and green dinosaur peeped out from behind her. "Let's do this, Nodesumon! Digi-Armor Energize!"
"Nodesumon, armor-digivolve to...ArmorNodesumon! The Dynamite of Destruction!" ArmorNodesumon looked like a blue and green version of MetalGreymon, only with more metal and wings of deep crimson.
It was Erek's turn. "Come on, Bakarumon! Let's defeat the digidestined! Digi-Armor Energize, now!"
"Bakarumon, armor-digivolve to...Kodrimon! The Grave of Death! MWAHAHAHAHA!" Once a small Bakemon with glowing purple eyes and sharp blue claws, Kodrimon looked like a cross between Devimon and a dragon.
Mimi winced. "Did he have to do the evil laugh?"
"MWAHAHAHAHA!"
Ai simply said, "Digi-Armor Energize, Notomon."
"Notomon, armor-digivolve to...Byrimon! The Ghost of Fright!" The yellow-gold goblin was now a female vampire, much like LadyDevimon.
Iori glanced down at Armadillomon, then at his friends. In seconds, four ultimates, two megas, and five armors stood facing the evil ones.
"GO!"
Kodrimon flapped his dark purple wings and took to the sky, followed by ArmorNodesumon. Byrimon flew straight upwards and began to prepare an attack. Hitokomon dove toward the digimon on the ground. As he passed Casia, Chieko leapt onto his back. The girl waved slowly as both took off towards the digidestined.
"Golden Noose!" Nefertimon and Pegasusmon shouted. The lasso surrounded Kodrimon, who immediately dedigivolved with a last evil laugh.
"Why'd you do that to HIM?" Tai asked.
Pegasusmon answered, "That evil laugh was REALLY getting on my nerves!"
"Tempest Wing!"
"Fire Rocket!"
"Rock Cracking!"
ArmorNodesumon was hit in the stomach with the first two attacks and knocked backwards. The ground split from Digmon's attack, causing her to nearly fall. She reverted to Nodesumon and jumped upwards, into Asha's arms. The girl narrowed her eyes. She and Erek, holding their digimon, stepped back to let the other three take the stage.
Unfortunately for the digidestined, the last three were the strongest. Flamedramon was locked in combat with Hitokomon, already weakened by Chieko. Byrimon's Fang Arrows had forced the ultimates and MetalGarurumon to dedigivolve. Just as Pegasusmon aimed a Wind Mane her way, she flew high into the air, targeting Halsemon.
"Darkness Cloak!" she shrieked. A blanket of blackness shot from her and settled around a thrashing Halsemon. Soon the blanket vanished to reveal a worn-out Hawkmon.
"Darkness Cloak!" Moments after the attack began, it dissipated to show Agumon.
"Rosetta Stone!"
"Star Shower!"
"Gold Rush!"
"Flaming Fist!"
Byrimon and Hitokomon dodged the attacks. Chieko hissed and darted off Hitokomon's back. She sank her sharp fangs into Nefertimon's ankle, then whirled on Pegasusmon. In only five seconds, she left Flamedramon standing alone.
"Go, Flamedramon! You can beat 'em!" Daisuke shouted.
"Fire Rocket!" The attack hit Byrimon, who finally dedigivolved. Ai caught the goblin-like digimon and cast a worried look at Tashino. His fists were clenched. Casia stood beside him, eyes riveted on the battle before them.
"Electric Comet Punch!" Hitokomon yelled. His fist glowed and began to emit sparks. Then he jabbed at Flamedramon.
"Flaming Fist!" Hitokomon went flying backwards. Chieko slid off him and lay on the desert floor, limp. Casia shrieked and hopped off the low plateau, racing to her defeated partner.
"Cass, come on. We're going home," Tashino said fiercely. He jumped down beside her and grabbed his digimon. The two held their digivices up to the sky. Above them, Ai, Asha, and Erek did the same. A glowing blue light surrounded them. When it diminished, they were gone.
"So." Mimi said after a moment.
"Those were the DarkDestined," Tai said.
Izzy shook his head. "This is gonna be hard. They have four armors and a poisonous snake. We have more digimon, but only five armors, two megas, and four ultimates. Without Wormmon, we don't have a chance."
Ken sighed. "Plus, Casia saved our lives. And we saved hers. How can we really fight her? It's not possible!"
The twelve digidestined looked at each other, then down at their exhausted digimon. It was Kari who spoke first after a long silence.
"We just have to do it somehow. They're the DarkDestined. We are the digidestined. It's just something we have to do, and there's no way we can back out now."
