BSeries: Bonds & Bondage||Story: Destiny Diverted
Characters: Miyako, Kaiser, Takeru, Daisuke||Pairing: N/A
Genre: Drama, Adventure||Rated: G
Challenges: Diversity Writing, K14, 3+ fics; What-if: What if the Digimon Kaiser put the Evil Ring on V-mon before the others arrived?; One Character Boot Camp, #23, possibility; Driven By Tears Boot Camp, #28, collect; Digimon Partners Boot Camp, #29, pain; Character Diversity Boot Camp, #28, wear (V-mon); Season Rewrite Boot Camp, #20, disarm; Villains Boot Camp, #13, intelligent; Monthly Restrict, random word every 500 words (evolution); Mini-fic Masterclass, Remix Tapes; Golden Week Mini-Advent; Christmas Advent day #13, roll a dice to determine what season one writes in; Short One-shot Competition
Summary: Miyako and Iori have the Digimentals of Love and Knowledge and their partners. They need to go save Daisuke and V-mon from the Digimon Kaiser. Surely he's taking his time in taunting them. Surely they can get there in time. Surely...

Scarlet red lasers blasted forward, carrying Miyako's confidence that they'd arrived in time, that they would rescue Daisuke and V-mon and teach this Digimon Kaiser a lesson. What kind of a person did what he did, anyway?

Only as the smoke cleared, Miyako couldn't see anyone except Digmon and Iori. No sign at all of Takeru-kun, Hikari-chan, or the Digimon Kaiser.

That's not right. We know they were here. The Digivice had beeped. Sure, she'd only had this thing about a day but wasn't that what it meant?

"Do any of you see anything?" Miyako asked, gripping harder onto Holsmon's shoulders. Fear prickled its way up her spine.

"No, I don't," Iori replied, eyes flicking this way and that. He looked every bit as worried as Miyako herself felt. Something wasn't right here.

Everything got worse a heartbeat later as a mad cackle crackled over the canyon and everyone turned to where it came from. There on a ridge stood someone who was unmistakably the Digimon Kaiser: someone who looked about their age or so, with wild blue hair and a weird visor that concealed most of his face. A whip hung on his belt and he held a black Digivice in one hand.

"You're too late, fools," he declared with a smirk. "Did you really think I wouldn't do it as soon as possible?"

Iori and Miyako exchanged a quick mystified look. "Do what?" Miyako wanted to know from where she and Holsmon hovered in the sky. The Kaiser laughed again.

"This!" The sound of his snapping fingers echoed all around. From behind a rock V-mon stepped, his head raised to display scarlet eyes, Evil Ring around his neck. The Kaiser could not seem to stop laughing.

"And that's not all." Another snap of his fingers.

Miyako didn't know Daisuke; they'd really only met the day before. But she knew enough to realize that Daisuke standing on the Kaiser's other side, his eyes blank and devoid of life, wasn't a good sign.

"What did you do to him?" She shouted, fingers tightening on Holsmon's fur. She wanted to talk to Sora-san or Hikari-chan or Takeru-kun: anyone who knew more than she did about what was going on and if this had ever happened before.

Kaiser's hand slipped possessively through Daisuke's hair. Daisuke leaned a bit closer at it, a faint hint of pleasure sparking through his eyes.

"I don't think I need to tell you that. What I do need to tell you is that you're not welcome inn my world. So, get out, or face the same fate they've suffered!"

From farther back there came a small attack that Miyako suspected Kaiser didn't expect: a rock thrown at his back. Hikari-chan and Takeru-kun stood there with their partners, both with rocks in their hands again. Their partners weren't capable of evolution, but they clearly weren't going to let this slide.

"Let our friends go!" Takeru declared. "Or this next one's going right for your ugly face!"

Digimon Kaiser snarled, whip leaping into his hand and cracking toward the two of them. "I don't think so. Let me show you a little trick!"

His Digivice glowed. So did Daisuke's. The glows surrounded V-mon, blurring him from sight for a few moments. When all of the Chosen could see him again, a much larger Digimon stood there, a large creature shaped of flames, with a gleaming helmet over most of its head. Scarlet red eyes glared out at them as it raised sharp-edged claws to the sky and roared a challenge.

"This is Dark Lizamon. I don't think it's V-mon's proper evolution but I also don't care. Dark Lizamon, get rid of them!" Digimon Kaiser commanded. He stepped back, dragging Daisuke with him, as Dark Lizamon surged forward, fireballs bursting out of his claws.

It took Miyako a few seconds to realize that he was attacking Hikari-chan and Takeru-kun, not them: attacking the people who had the least chance of defending themselves. She urged Holsmon forward; the least that she could do was take care of them!

Iori must have thought the same thing, since he and Digmon dug out of sighs. She didn't know what he had in mind, but she'd figure that out later. She wanted to get this done so they could go back home!

Takeru and Hikari didn't bother trying to throw rocks at Dark Lizamon. They just backed up, Patamon and Tailmon moving forward, regardless of how their attacks did nothing against V-mon's dark evolution.

It got absolutely no better when Snimon and Mojyamon joined in the fight. Both of them surged forward, Snimon moving almost too fast to be seen, Mojyamon tossing trees toward them. Staying on balance and avoiding being hit wasn't easy and Miyako crouched down lower in an attempt to avoid the blows.

"You see?" Digimon Kaiser's voice rang out over the sounds of battle. "Nothing you can do can stop me!"

Miyako wasn't going to believe that. Not when they'd barely even begun. It wasn't even supposed to be that hard. She'd heard what the ones who'd come there the day before said: just get rid of the Evil Ring and the Digimon went back to normal.

"Aim for Snimon!" Miyako whispered to Holsmon. If they could get rid of that one, the fastest one, then they could do the others. Right?

Holsmon aimed quickly, lasers soaring towards the gigantic green insect. As fast as he struck, however, Snimon moved faster, darting out of the way and letting Holsmon's attack crumble a streak of rocks behind them. Miyako growled; there had to be something that they could do!

They soared up higher and she took the chance to see what was going on. It didn't look good. She saw no sign of Iori and Digmon and Dark Lizamon still stalked after Takeru, Hikari, and their partners. Daisuke remained near the Kaiser, as unresponsive as a statue, but somehow completely attentive to the Kaiser at the same time. Sora-san and Izumi-sempai were out of sight, but that didn't surprise her. They'd agreed to stay hidden until the fight was over with.

We expected it to be done by now, though.

Cracks shattered the surface of the ridge where Daisuke and Kaiser stood, a huge gap appearing in front of them. Digmon leaped out, drills at the ready, followed at once by Drimogemon. Miyako's heart beat faster to see that he wasn't wearing one of those Evil Rings.

Kaiser noticed it as well, or so the growl of fury Miyako heard from his direction indicated. He wasted no time in useless anger, though.

"Snimon! Mojyamon! Dark Lizamon! Finish them off! Now!" Snimon swooped toward Miyako and Holsmon, while Mojyamon and Dark Lizamon now turned their mutual attention towards Digmon. Miyako held on with all of her might as Holsmon spun, avoiding Snimon's attack.

Their best bet, she thought, would be to lure Snimon away from Takeru and Hikari. Let them have a chance to breathe while she tried to figure out how to pin Snimon down enough to get rid of the Evil Ring. Then they could help Iori, if he still needed it. Which he probably would; two on one wasn't very fair odds at all.

She could only hope this half-baked plan stood a chance of working.

Digimon Kaiser wanted to bring this fight to an end. He had more slaves he could bring up, but in all fairness, he wanted to see exactly how Dark Lizamon would work in combat. Once he had the chance to refine the Evil Rings and explore this new outlet he'd discovered, he might even be able to enable V-mon to achieve his proper evolution.

For now though, Dark Lizamon certainly was useful beyond words. He'd set fire to the small forest at the bottom of the ridge, which had driven a couple of those older fools out. They weren't any trouble; their partners couldn't evolve either. But it amused him to see them running around in absolute terror.

He cast a glance at the other two, the ones with the Patamon and Tailmon. He'd done his research once he'd seen those the day before. Patamon could evolve to Angemon and Holy Angemon, while Tailmon could evolve to Angewomon. Both were very powerful Digimon and ones that he would like to have under his control if at all possible. He made a note to capture them as soon as it would be convenient.

Perhaps he'd deal with their human partners as well. Presuming that the Rings he would use on them would have the exact same effect that the one he'd used on V-mon did. That had been an unexpected bonus, but one he had no intention of quibbling about.

What annoyed him about all of this the most was that underground Digimon: Digmon, he thought he'd heard. That one came close to knocking him off his feet, and removed Drimogimon's Ring as well. He would have to fix that. Fortunately, that was easy enough.

"Here." He slipped another Evil Ring to his precious prize. "I want you to put that on Drimogemon." He threaded his fingers through his captive's hair. For all that he knew little about him except what was most important – that he would do whatever his new master wanted of him – Kaiser found it quite fascinating to toy with this one.

Once he'd finished off these fools and returned to the base, he would put in some spare time to learning about his new servant. All information could be useful.

At his command the former user of the Digimental of Courage – Kaiser made a mental note to learn his name at some point – darted forward, sliding through the rocks and rubble as fast as he could go. He wasn't nearly as fast as Kaiser, of course, but he managed very well, getting close enough to Drimogemon before anyone caught sight of him.

"Daisuke!" One of those who didn't have a Digimental called out, but Kaiser's slave didn't even look at him. Kaiser mentally praised him. Even with this situation being an unexpected result, he made very good use of the tools given to him. "Daisuke, what are you doing?"

"He's doing exactly what I told him to do," Kaiser snapped, admiring the throw as the Evil Ring arched through the air. "I'm certain you've noticed which side that he's on now."

"What did you do to him?" The blond with the ridiculous hat shouted. Kaiser chuckled, approving as Drimogemon moved towards Digmon and started to battle. This would move things more in his favor now.

"Me? Nothing at all." Kaiser raised one hand to his lips, tapping in thought. "At least, not on purpose." It was beneath him to lie. He wasn't above taking advantage of useful side effects, though. Such as the ability to create a dark evolution.

He turned his attention back to Daisuke – he would certainly be a big help to the Kaiser now – and snapped his fingers to get the other to look at him.

"Get back over here. You've done your job."

He didn't think any of the Chosen would figure out exactly what had happened. He wasn't certain if he would have believed it himself if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes. And he saw no reason right now to let them know.

Not that he didn't want to set fear into them for how easy it would be to defeat every last one of them, but he wanted to take his time, to savor their terror and confusion, and watch their nightmares take root.

Daisuke hadn't taken more than a handful of steps before the blond tackled him, sending him sprawling in the dirt, and sat himself right on Daisuke's back.

"What do you think you're doing? You're one of us!" The blond snarled, keeping Daisuke pinned down even as he struggled to get up and obey Kaiser's commands. "Is he blackmailing you? Is that it?"

Daisuke gave no answers. Kaiser ordered him before the others even arrived not to speak to anyone who wasn't himself unless Kaiser decreed otherwise. But now he stalked closer, whip trailing on the ground for a few seconds before he raised it up.

"Get off my property!" He shouted, bringing the whip down a heartbeat later. The blond tried to dodge, but Daisuke reached up in time to grab him, keeping him in place so the whip smacked against the side of his cheek, letting blood flow. Kaiser smiled.

"Very good. You'll get a reward for that." It was always a good idea to honor initiative.

Dark Lizamon roared, moving in closer now, and if Kaiser were to admit the truth to himself, he couldn't have said if the Digimon came to help him or Daisuke. He wasn't certain of how much it mattered, either. Seeing the helpless humans run in absolute terror pleased him more than anything else.

Daisuke got back to his feet as the blond stumbled back a bit, one hand pressed to where his cheek now bled. His gaze shifted between Dark Lizamon and Daisuke, then over to the Kaiser, horrified realization dawning in his eyes.

Kaiser didn't want to give him time to act on anything. Instead, he summoned another of his Rings and turned toward the Patamon flying toward them, shrieking the blond's name.

"What would a dark evolution for your partner there be? I believe there are so many options. I can't even imagine them all. I've heard that Devimon are fallen Angemon. Perhaps that?" He raised the Ring and took aim. "What do you think? Should we find out?"

Rage that nearly equaled his own stormed through sky blue eyes and the blond grabbed for his partner, tucking him in his arms and turning his back so that Kaiser couldn't throw the Ring and hit the Digimon.

"We have to get out of here," he shouted to the others, his voice thick and harsh. "The sooner, the better."

"Takeru?" From the muffled voice, Kaiser presumed that came from the Patamon. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. Come on."

Kaiser smiled as the group, battered and shocked and unable to have accomplished anything properly useful, started to scamper out of there. The blond stopped right on the edge of the canyon, staring at Daisuke for a heartbeat before he shifted an even more furious gaze toward the Kaiser.

"We'll be back," was all he promised before he vanished out of sight. Kaiser threw his head back and let out the deepest, richest, most maniacal cackle that he could manage.

The day before he'd lost a Monochromon and discovered that he had enemies who would try their best to bring him down. Today he'd eliminated one enemy, converting him to his side almost by accident, and added at least one powerful new Digimon to his army.

He couldn't think of how today could get any better, but he did so hope it would happen.

Takeru said nothing at alluntil they'd all made it back through the gate, picking up Sora and Koushirou along the way. He barely could wrap his head around the fact that their partners came with them, but as it sank in, he snapped his head around to stare at the gate.

"Stay out of sight! Spread the word to the others! Don't let anyone get hit by one of those Rings."

Everyone stared at him, Taichi included. "What's wrong?" He wanted to know, doing a quick and not very subtle head count. "Where's Daisuke?"

"Back with the Kaiser," Takeru reported, still holding onto Patamon and wondering what he would have to do to avoid even the thought of nightmares tonight. He wasn't sure if anything to avoid them even existed. "The Kaiser captured him almost as soon as we got there. By the time we found them, he'd already put a Ring on V-mon."

Just saying the words made his throat want to close. He forced out the rest of it, no matter how much it hurt. They all needed to know. None of them had any idea that this had been possible.

He still didn't know how it was, but he couldn't deny what he'd seen with his own eyes.

So he swallowed and kept going. "And it affected Daisuke-kun too. I was right next to him. I could see his eyes. They weren't right. They weren't red like V-mon's, but he wasn't thinking for himself. I couldn't do anything to help." He shook his head and looked at Koushirou. "Is that a thing? Can that happen?"

Koushirou tilted his head, considering. "I don't know," he said at last. "I don't know enough about those Rings to be certain. I would have to be able to examine them, not to mention that the nature of our connection to our Digimon is something I don't have all the details on either."

Sora and Taichi hadn't moved from the moment he'd started talking. It was Taichi who broke the silence at last, looking at the computer.

"Find Agumon and the others," he told Piyomon and Tentomon, "and do what Takeru said. Until we figure out how to change this, we're all in danger."

Takeru could only nod and hold Patamon closer, trembling. He'd lost him once to darkness and he refused to let it happen again. The Kaiser's threats about a dark evolution rang clear in his memory.

I've heard that Devimon are fallen Angemon.

He wouldn't let that happen. Nor would he let Daisuke and V-mon stay enslaved. They'd lost good friends before and not all of them returned. He didn't know Daisuke well enough to call him a good friend, but he refused to let the Kaiser take away their chance to find out if he could be.

A trickle of warm liquid fell down his cheek. Oh. Right. Kaiser hit him with the whip. He would have to take care of it. Just the perfect ending to a rotten second day of school.

The End

Notes: Like many of my series, there will be one-shots and multichaps involving this situation. Some years ago I read a fanfic that theorized what if Ringing the Digimon also affected the partner, which is where I picked up the concept, and now am using it in my own way. Poor Daisuke...

Notes 2: I edited this a little bit. Mostly just rearranging some words