A/N:
Disclaimer: I own nothing but Shixona, Silvmon, and Silvmon's digivolutions.
Digimon Adventure 02, Shixona
Chapter 21
The glow from Magnamon and Crystaldramon was amazing, and it felt so warm and energizing.
"Hey, Digi-Fools! Do you honestly think your new Digimon can beat me? They couldn't even be my flashlight!" the Digimon Emperor yelled cockily.
"Oh yeah? Well, sticks and stones can break my bones, but when Magnamon and Crystaldramon get a hold of you, they'll kick your—" Davis started to taunt.
"But, you didn't let me finish! They would make good nightlights!" the Digimon Emperor cackled, cutting him off. Suddenly, a loud rumble sounded from below, making us all look down in alarm, as Kimeramon crashed through the wall to attack.
"Kimeramon!" the Digimon Emperor grinned wickedly.
"Watch out!" Davis and I yelled to our partners.
"Shixona!" Crystaldramon shouted, diving down and grabbing me out of harm's way while Magnamon did the same with Davis…right as Kimeramon crashed through the bridge where we'd been standing.
"Davis, Shixona, we'll take care of this," Magnamon told us, and we nodded, getting to our feet.
"Go get him, Magnamon! Show him he's no match for you! But just in case he is, I'll go get the others!" Davis called, running off.
"Be careful, Crystaldramon!" I yelled to my friend before following after Davis. As we caught up to the others, I yelled, "Wait up, everyone!"
"Run, Davis, Shixona!" T.K. shouted, right as Kimeramon crashed through the wall behind us.
"We don't have much time!" Gatomon warned. "We need to ditch this place before it takes a nosedive!"
"Sure would be nice to capture the Digimon Emperor while we're here," Armadillomon frowned.
"Right. Let's go get him!" Davis crowed, and we resumed running.
"Ken!" Davis yelled as we got close.
"Well, if it isn't the Digidestined," the Digimon Emperor smirked. "I see that you've finally come to your senses, and are ready to surrender to me and Kimeramon."
"Fat chance, Ken! I think some of your hairspray must have leaked through into your brain!" I snorted.
"And another thing," Yolei chimed in. "Who said it was okay for you to go out and create a Digimon, anyway?"
"Yeah, do you think you're Dr. Frankenstein or something?" Cody added angrily. "Creating creatures for your own cruel pleasure? Kimeramon's not the monster, Ken, YOU ARE!" The remarks made the Emperor growl irritably.
"Look at them. Are they trying to hurt you right now?" I frowned, gesturing to our partner Digimon.
"They're not your toys for some kind of a sick game!" T.K. nodded firmly. "They're real! They're not just data in a computer. They're living creatures like you and I!"
"You're a Digidestined, just like us! You have a responsibility to both worlds!" Kari added. "Like Wormmon. He's your friend and not someone you should just kick around."
"Master…" Wormmon whimpered as he looked at Ken pleadingly.
"There's only one Digimon that's suitable for me," the Digimon Emperor mumbled.
"Hm?" Wormmon hummed hopefully.
"AND THAT'S KIMERAMON!" the Emperor screamed at us. As Magnamon and Crystaldramon continued to fight Kimeramon, suddenly, a chunk of metal from the interior fell to the bottom, shaking the entire base and causing us to cry out in alarm. "Don't feel too proud that you destroyed my home base, because you're going down with it!" And with that, he took off with Wormmon.
"Wait, Ken! We want to help you! Ken, listen to me!" Davis tried to yell after him, but he was gone. Then the base shook wildly again, drawing startled cries from us again.
"Pardon me, but it's getting a little hot down here!" Hawkmon declared.
"Right! But do you both have enough energy to digivolve?" Yolei asked worriedly.
"Yes! Now let's leave before I'm a fried chicken!" the bird Digimon insisted.
"The heat is on, guys!" Gatomon chimed in.
"Hm!" Patamon nodded.
"Yeah!" Armadillomon agreed.
"All right! Let's do it, guys!" Kari declared, and then everyone except Davis and I had their partners Armor Digivolve.
"Armadillomon, Armor Digivolve to…Digmon, the Drill of Knowledge! I used to say the Drill of Power, but this makes me sound smarter!"
"Hawkmon, Armor Digivolve to…Halsemon, the Wings of Love!"
"Gatomon, Armor Digivolve to…Nefertimon, the Angel of Light!
"Patamon, Armor Digivolve to…Pegasusmon, Flying Hope!"
"Gold Rush!" Digmon shouted, blasting the wall once to open a hole.
"Magna Blast!"
"Crystal Shot!" Magnamon and Crystaldramon attacked Kimeramon with their attacks, blasting him back.
"Gold Rush!" Digmon cried out again, opening a hole in the all this time. "Come on, everyone, follow me!" And with that, he jumped out, holding Cody.
"I'll follow him!" Pegasusmon said, flying out with T.K. and Davis on his back.
"I'll follow you!" Nefertimon echoed, with Kari and me on her back.
"I'll follow you!" Halsemon added, flying out with Yolei.
"Now that's what I call following orders," Digmon chuckled.
"Jeez, that was a close one!" Davis sighed in relief as he looked back while the base crashed to the ground.
"Oh, the humanity!" Halsemon joked. Meanwhile, Magnamon and Crystaldramon were now fighting Kimeramon outside of the base.
"Magna Blast!"
"Crystal Shot!"
Sadly, even though they attacked together, Kimeramon wasn't badly hurt, as he roared at them angrily.
"It's no use! He's too strong!" Magnamon grit out.
"And we're running out of power!" Crystaldramon growled. "Huh?!"
Out of nowhere, Kimeramon smashed into them, grabbing them tightly in his fists.
"No!" I shouted desperately.
"That's it, let him have it, Kimeramon!" the Digmon Emperor egged on his creation.
"You can do it, Magnamon and Crystaldramon!" Wormmon urged.
"Silence!" his master spat, whipping Wormmon angrily, and making the bug Digimon flinch sharply before looking back with tears in his eyes.
"I hope you're finally proud of yourself," he whimpered out, hurt heavy in his voice, but his "master" merely growled. "You've officially become worse than the monster you created. Whatever happened to that sweet kid I met a long time ago who had a dream of taking over the Digital World? Okay, it was a sick and twisted dream, but we still had a lot of laughs together! What happened to the boy I was proud to call master? Of course, you MADE me call you that." As he spoke, Kimeramon squeezed Magnamon and Crystaldramon tighter, making my partner cry out while Magnamon grunted.
"Take it easy! I'm not a melon!" he protested.
"You've changed, Ken. But it's not too late for you," Wormmon continued. "For some reason, you started capturing Digimon and you turned them into your slaves instead of your friends. I didn't agree, but I stuck by your side because I was your Digimon. And then, you started being cruel to me. The one who knows the true you. The others may know and fear you as the Digimon Emperor, but never forget I know the real you."
Out of nowhere, Wormmon started to glow, and Crystaldramon and Magnamon perked up as they began to glow as well.
"I'll always think of you for your kindness, Ken. No matter what," Wormmon said firmly, beginning to cry. "One day I hope you'll realize that the real Ken isn't the Digimon Emperor, but the Ken that's my friend."
"Huh?" the Emperor uttered, frowning in confusion.
"And only a real friend would do this!" the bug Digimon yelled, before tackling his master off of Devidramon and urging the dragon Digimon to fly towards Kimeramon, knocking Magnamon and Crystaldramon out of the hybrid Digimon's grip, but the green Digimon was knocked away in the process.
"Wormmon, what are you doing?!" Crystaldramon demanded.
"Magnamon and Crystaldramon, it's up to you now!" Wormmon cried out.
"Wormmon!" the golden-armored Digimon shouted.
"Please, both of you. Save Ken for me. Here's what little energy I have left. Use it!" the small Digimon pleaded, giving his energy to Magnamon and Crystaldramon.
"Wormmon's power has re-energized us!" Magnamon declared. "Magna Explosion!"
"Crystal Meteor!"
And with that, Kimeramon disintegrated with a roar of pain, making us all cheer, before Davis and I ran to Demiveemon and Silvmon respectively.
"Demiveemon! Are you okay?" Davis asked his partner worriedly.
"Hey," the little blue Digimon smiled tiredly.
"You were amazing, Silvmon," I praised, holding my friend close to my heart. "You both did awesome." Then Davis seemed to notice something.
"Did someone lose their keys?" he wondered aloud, before picking it up.
"No, that's a Crest, like from when we originally journeyed," I frowned, but we joined our friends anyway as they crowded around Ken.
"I lost! I'm a failure! This wasn't what was supposed to happen! I was flawless," he babbled. "My plans were cheated somehow. That's the only possible explanation. I only have one choice left, and that's just to cheat myself! I'll start over! I'll just have to reset the Digital World!"
"Reset the Digital World? What are you talking about, Ken?" T.K. frowned.
"It's simple. I'll just go home and delete all the Digital World data off my computer and create a new program," Ken snapped. "That way I can start a new Digital World that doesn't cheat!"
"Dude, you can't be serious!" Davis exclaimed.
"The Digital World is a completely real place, Ken! It's not just something that's programmed into your computer!" Yolei told him.
"We tried to tell you that before, but you thought we were trying to play some kind of trick on you!" T.K. added.
"This isn't just some kind of video game, Ken," Cody nodded, frowning deeply. "Digimon are real, Ken. And it's about time you realized what you've been doing."
"You've been hurting innocent creatures, Ken!" Kari chimed in.
"…Your Digimon were all at the soccer game in the real world. I remember now! You're real, not just computer data! I can't believe I never figured that out!" Ken cried out.
"You know, for an evil genius, you really are a slow learner, Ken," Demiveemon told him.
"Yeah. You should have seen everything is real by now," Silvmon agreed.
"And you've been constantly abusing Digimon," I said. "Ever since you claimed to be the Digimon Emperor."
"I had no idea…" Ken whimpered out. "What have I done? I thought my Dark Rings were a stroke of genius! I never realized I was causing pain! I made them work for me tirelessly, without ever giving them a break. And I was cruel to them beyond imagination!" When he finished speaking, his eyes widened in horror, and he fell to his knees, clutching his head in his hands. "AH! I'm a monster! I can't believe what I've done!"
"It's hard to argue with you there, Ken," T.K. murmured.
"The important thing is you've realized what you've done," Kari nodded. "And it's not too late to make a fresh start!"
"What have I done?!" Ken wailed, stumbling along the sand as he tore off his Emperor clothes, each piece disintegrating as it hit the sand. He soon collapsed in a sobbing heap as the last piece disappeared from him. Suddenly, his attention was grabbed as Kari gasped.
"Wormmon!" she cried out.
"Worm…mon…?" Ken mumbled.
"He's still breathing!" Gatomon told us as we all gathered around the bug Digimon. Even Ken came over, appearing distraught.
"You've returned to your old self. I knew you could do it, Ken," Wormmon mumbled, his energy drained, but he looked pleased.
"I'm sorry. It's too late for me, Wormmon…" Ken whispered.
"It's never too late to be sorry," his partner assured him.
"Wormmon's absolutely right, Ken!" Davis agreed. Suddenly, the Crest in Davis's pocket began to glow. "Huh?" the brunette uttered, as it flew over to hover in front of Ken.
"Where'd you get that from, Davis?" T.K. asked curiously.
"I found it in the sand, why?"
"I'm not sure, but it looks like one of the Crests we used to have in the old days," I told him.
"You're right, Shixona! And it has the Crest of Kindness on it!" Kari gasped.
"Why is it coming to me?" Ken wondered, looking genuinely confused.
"Because it belongs to you, Ken. It's your Crest of Kindness," Wormmon told him.
"But there must be some mistake. I've been anything BUT kind…" Ken mumbled.
"That's what Wizardmon meant when he said, 'Kindness will release the golden radiance'! Ken must be the key to unlocking its power!" Gatomon realized.
"I knew deep inside you were kind," Wormmon got out with a small grunt.
"Wormmon, I'm sorry… Don't go. You're my best friend," Ken pleaded as he held Wormmon close to himself.
"You're my best friend, too. Goodbye, Ken," Wormmon murmured, before he closed his eyes…and then disappeared in a burst of data.
"Wormmon, no!" the violet-haired boy cried.
"He's gone, Ken," T.K. said softly.
"He can't be!" Ken whimpered, before choking out amidst his sobs, "Wormmon's gone… Just like my brother! I was helpless to save him, now I can't save Wormmon, either! Why do I keep losing people?! I came to the Digital World to get away from all those feelings, but I just can't escape!"
"Oh!" Davis said suddenly, perking up. "There's still people who love you!"
"…I gotta go…" Ken mumbled as his sobs slowed somewhat, before he began to stumble away through the desert.
"Don't walk away from your problems! Let us help you, Ken!" I called after him. "You're a Digidestined! Join us!" Instead of stopping or responding, though, he continued on, crying and sniffling.
"I wonder where he's going…" Cody frowned. "I hope he'll be okay."
X*X*X*X*X*X*X
Later on, after we returned to the real world, and Matt was forced into taking the bus with June back home, we all fell asleep, glad that the Digimon Emperor was no longer trying to take over anymore.