The End
 |
Her eyes were her most striking feature, many said. Cold and remote one moment, warm and full of life the next. None knew just what color they were, everyone seemed to see something different whenever they looked at her. Not that many did. Indeed, there were few who even knew she existed. But of those who did, all either feared or coveted her power.
She was the WorldWatcher, the guardian of dimensions. Not all realms, for that was too much even for an immortal such as herself. But a good portion of them were under her guardianship. She did everything she could to keep them safe, but on this day, her eyes were dark and troubled as she gazed into a mirror.
So many worlds in danger. She propped her chin up on a hand and gazed into her enchanted mirror. It was with this mirror, and other tools, that she was able to watch the dimensions under her protection. Now, however, it was showing her something she wasn't all that certain she wanted to see. The Rings of the Four Winds have surfaced in four of my dimensions. If only I could leave this place....
She frowned lightly. By the rules of her existence she was bound to her interdimensional palace, but she could touch other realms. Perhaps a quest...yes, that would work. But questers...
Her fingers gently caressed the surface of the mirror for a moment, and images of a million folk, male and female and some other combinations, ran all through it. Finally it split-screened into four faces. Two universes, four chosen warriors. Of all, they are the ones most capable of facing and conquering the challenges inherent in claiming each of the Rings.
Her fingers drummed momentarily on the mirror, then she nodded her head briefly. So shall it be. She raised one hand and chanted slowly.
He stared out the window for a moment, relaxing. The stars were beautiful out here in space, far more so than they were on Earth, without the veil of atmosphere to conceal them. I think I should hit the gym for a while. Astronema probably won't be attacking for a couple of days, so we've got some time.
The Ranger stood up, and the moment he was on his feet, everything began to ripple around him. "Whoa...what's going ...."
Before he had a chance to say anything, he was no longer in his quarters. He stood in what looked like to be a throne room, with a beautiful woman seated upon a throne, Adam Park not a foot from him, and two young boys on the other side, one with odd blue hair and wearing some kind of grayish school uniform type of thing, and the other with reddish hair, jeans, a T-shirt, and some kind of vest with a flame design on it.
"Whoa..." Carlos shook his head and glanced around. "What's going on here?"
"Well, what do we have here?" Ken paced around him with a sadistic twitch to his lips. "Just what do we have here?"
The young leader felt a chill go down his spine as Ken's whip snaked downwards towards the floor and the emperor's arm began to rise. Oh, this is gonna hurt.
Before the whip made contact, however, Daisuke saw his vision start to ripple. What the.... was all that had the chance to go through his mind before he was no longer in the Emperor's tower, but in what looked like a much nicer throne room. Ken was by his side, the whip and the armor outfit gone, replaced by his gray uniform, and on his other side were two older guys, probably about seventeen or eighteen, and all of them looked as dumbfounded as he felt.
"Whoa..." One of the strangers said as he shook his head. "What's going on here?"
After his usual few minutes of trying to convince himself the world didn't exist, and being rather brutally convinced that it did, Adam slid out of bed and padded sans clothing to the bathroom. That was one thing he enjoyed about living alone: his chosen method of sleepwear shocked no one. Though it was rather fun to see Billy's face when he came to wake me up for that seminar last week.
A quick shower and some clothes later, the college student sat down in the nearest comfortable chair to sip some tea and try and figure out what he was going to do with the day. No classes today, and I'm caught up on all my homework. Tommy and Aisha are making wedding plans, I won't be needed for that for another couple of days at least. Kim and Kat are still in Florida wrapping up stuff there. He sipped more at the tea, thinking things over. Actually, I don't think there's anything I really have to do today. What do you know, a really empty day. I like the sound of that.
He was just about to get up and get some more tea as he drained the last of his cup, when everything began to ripple in front of him. His eyes widened briefly as his apartment vanished, and he found himself in a strange looking throne room before a mysterious woman, with Carlos just to one side and on the other side of his friend, two boys of about eleven or twelve, both dressed rather oddly. Carlos blinked a little, shaking his head.
"Whoa....what is going on here?
Of course, he couldn't have Daisuke in the battle. Not only was he the leader of the enemy forces, but his Digimon was too versatile and too strong to risk against his masterpiece. All right, so I also think he's drop dead gorgeous and I don't want him hurt in the fight. But that's just a bonus. As long as he's here, he won't be there fighting me. Ken's violet eyes twinkled as he elegantly stepped across to where Daisuke stood chained to a post.
"Well, what do we have here?" He almost lilted the words out, his eyes raking across the other as he did so. He would be glad when this final battle was over with and the Digidestined had been defeated. Once they were out of the way, he could start Daisuke's re-education, and they would rule over the Digiworld together. But until then, he was just a prisoner, and that meant he had to observe certain behavior patterns. After all, he didn't want to scare his prey too soon. It might try and escape. "Just what do we have here?"
Daisuke glared at him and Ken hid a smile. That fire was one of the things that he loved about his enemy, and he would never take it from him. Tame it to his hand, yes. Quench it...never. "I'd say you're looking at a prisoner, since you and that AirDramon of yours were the ones who caught me."
Oh, this was going to be amusing. It required a punishment, of course, that was a given. But not much of one. Just enough so Daisuke remembered who was in charge around here. His hand slipped down, his whip gripped firmly in it. He hauled his arm back, about to deliver a stunning blow to the other boy, when suddenly everything about him began to ripple. His first thought was that this was some trick of the Digidestined, who had somehow found his lair, but that thought was banished when he saw a sudden panicked look on Daisuke's face.
Before he could make a move, however, he was no longer in his tower. He was in some strange throne room, in his school uniform, and Daisuke was next to him. He ignored how comforting that felt for a moment and snapped his head around to see not only a woman seated on a throne, but two other young people, close to their twenties, and both looking as confused as the Digimon Emperor felt. One of them shook his head briefly.
"Whoa...what's going on here?"
"Welcome to my palace, my questers," she spoke quietly. "I am pleased you all arrived so promptly."
Ken smirked coldly. "I wasn't aware we were given a choice in the matter. I know I wasn't."
"Just who are you?" Adam wanted to know. "And who are they?" He motioned to the two younger people. "And what is going on here?"
The woman's smile did not fade. "A quest, Adam Park, Black Ranger, Green Zeo Ranger, Green Turbo Ranger. A quest for the safety of your world, their world, and all dimensions under my guardianship." She raised a finger lightly and the image of four rings, one of onyx, one of ivory, one of ruby, and one of sapphire formed between the four of them. "These are the Rings of the Four Winds."
The image shifted to that of the onyx ring alone, expanding to show detail. "This is the ring of the Black Earth, giver of stability and strength. It is to be your task, Adam Park, former Black Ranger, former Green Zeo Ranger, former Green Turbo Ranger, to bring this ring to me, surpassing all obstacles and overcoming whatever odds are placed in your path until the ring is given back to my possession."
Next was the ivory ring. "This is the Ring of the White Wind, giver of quickness and light. It is to be your task, Carlos Valerte, former Green Turbo Ranger, Black Space Ranger, to bring this ring to me, surpassing all obstacles and overcoming whatever odds are placed in your path until the ring is given back to my possession.
"This is the Ring of the Blue Water, giver of wisdom and reflection. It is to be your task, Ken Ichijouji, Digimon Emperor, to bring this ring to me, surpassing all obstacles and overcoming whatever odds are placed in your path until the ring is given back to my possession." The sapphire ring glowed between them now, then shifted to the ruby one.
"This is the Ring of the Red Fire, giver of passion and courage. It is to be your task, Daisuke Motomiya, bearer of the Digimentals of Courage and Friendship, leader of the second generation of Digidestined, to bring this ring to me, surpassing all obstacles and overcoming whatever odds are placed in your path until the ring is given back to my possession."
The Worldwatcher gazed at them all, and each felt her words pulse in their minds. "You, Carlos and Adam, have served the cause of good all your days and serve the purest essence of good in your world. By your courage and honor, you have proven yourselves to be mighty warriors of the light. It is for these reasons I have chosen you to be my Ringquesters and to seek out the Rings of Earth and Wind."
Her gaze shifted to Daisuke and Ken. "You, Ken and Daisuke, are much different. You, Ken, serve evil in your world, and Daisuke is your foe and challenge. By the strength of your convictions, by the determination towards your chosen cause, and by that which lies in your hearts which you do not name nor acknowledge, you have proven yourself to be the warriors I seek. It is for these reasons I have chosen you to be my Ringquesters and to seek out the Rings of Fire and Water."
She leaned back to look at them all again. "When you leave forth from this place, you will find the path leads you to one of the Rings. Even I do not know which, nor just what it is that will block your way to them. I know there will be trials you must pass and things you must learn before you can claim them." Her gaze locked on each. "I will answer one question from each of you now. But choose it wisely, for you will not see me again until this quest ends: though I will surely see you."
"Who are you?" It was Carlos who spoke, his eyes flicking nervously over to the blue-haired boy. She had said he was evil; and he certainly didn't look trustworthy, despite how the other boy appeared to hover somewhat protectively about them.
"I am the Worldwatcher. It is my task to guard the worlds granted to me at time's dawn and protect them from all harm. I have done so since my creation and will do so until I am no more. I do not judge good or evil or any such thing, they are what they are, and each world has it's own lifepath to follow. I do not judge...I only watch and I only guard. I am apart from them, not a part of them. I was not made of them, I was made from them. A bit of my essence is from each universe within my charge. I protect, I do not take part of. I am the Worldwatcher."
Adam frowned; he had heard something from Dimitria once about legends on her home planet of someone who guarded many universes. He'd dismissed them as legends, of course, any sane person would. But then again, there was a time in his life when he'd dismissed aliens and magic as legends too. One question... "Why are these rings so important?"
"They carry within them the essence of the four elements, and when combined, create the ultimate power of magic." Her eyes flicked to Ken briefly. "A power that cannot be used save by an immortal and will destroy any mortal who tries. The power of the elements is the purest power in all creation, in any creation. The rings were forged at the dawn of time, and were in my care for many eons. But through grave mischance they were lost, scattered throughout realities. I was unable to locate them until this very day, and when I learned, I summoned you four. I may not leave my palace, or I would have claimed them myself. Any human may touch them, and use them for a time, but before one turning of the seasons of their world has passed, the power will consume them. When you find them, you may wear them on your hands, but do not attempt to use the power unless to not do so would risk losing the rings again. They must not be lost, no matter what."
Daisuke exchanged a brief glance with Ken, and felt a shudder go down his spine. Something told him that the Digimon Emperor wanted to hear what sort of question he asked before asking his own question. Naturally. Big shot genius like him wants to make sure no one takes the question he wants to ask. But what do I want to ask? Almost as soon as he formed the question in his mind, he knew what the answer was. Or more precisely, what the question was.
"How long is this trip going to take?" He asked. He knew his parents wouldn't give a rip one way or the other, but he'd at least like to know that his friends wouldn't be running all over the Digiworld looking for him! They did see me get nabbed by the AirDramon, so they're probably already hunting for me, but for how long?
"For you, as long as it does. For the universes in which you are from: no more than five minutes. I can warp time and space to some degree, to make certain those in your homes do not miss you that much." For a moment, her eyes rested warmly on Daisuke, and he knew she knew everything about his home and his cruddy life, and about the things that he didn't want anyone else to find out about. He almost opened his mouth, then closed it again. No matter what strange quests they were about to go on, Ken was still his enemy, and he wasn't going to go spilling his guts to the bad guy.
Ken's lips quirked momentarily at Daisuke's reaction. He thinks I actually don't know about his family. Well, he doesn't need to know I know just yet. I'll save that for some time when it could truly be useful to me. He turned his attention back to the Worldwatcher. He had only one question he wanted the answer to, now that everyone else had used theirs: "What do we get out of this? Or more accurately, what do I get out of this?"
He could almost see the shock in the eyes of the two older boys, Carlos and Adam. Did they actually think we were going to do this for free? Saps.
The Worldwatcher smiled quietly. She had known he would ask something self-serving. "Whatever your deepest heart's desire is when you return the rings to me, I will grant it to you. No matter what it is...you will get it."
Four jaws dropped, with Ken being the first to recover. From the glint in his violet eyes, it was easy to see what his heart's desire was. "That's acceptable."
"I thought it would be." The Worldwatcher lifted a finger, motioning towards a door that slid open as she did so. "That is the path that will lead you to the Rings. I do not know what order you find them in, but you will not be brought back here until all four rings are on your hands. When they all, call my name and I will bring you back here. Remember what I have told you, and remember your skills and abilities and powers, for they and each other are all that you have on this quest. Depend upon each other as you would upon yourself. Be swift, my Ringquesters, and most of all: be safe."
The four of them turned towards the door, and without needing to discuss it, headed out. The Worldwatcher leaned back in her throne and sighed deeply. I hope I made the right decision.
"I've never seen anything quite like it," Adam murmured. "It's....magical." Oh, that was intelligent. Of course it's magic, you've seen enough to know it when you see it!
Daisuke had seen quite a few beautiful scenes in the Digiworld, and quite a few ugly ones as well, and this place definitely took the cake for beauty. "Neither have I. It's....gorgeous." For a moment he wished Kari were there with him, to share it. Kari...and Miyako..and all the rest...even T.K. He blinked slightly at a thought that snuck around in the back of his mind, then vanished. Couldn't have thought that, so I didn't. I like Kari. That's the only person I like.
Ken snorted briefly at the sight and headed down the path. "Let's get moving and quit admiring the scenery." Though there was some scenery he wanted to admire, but not in public.
"Not exactly a nature guy, is he?" Carlos directly addressed Daisuke for the first time. The redhead snorted briefly.
"That's one way to put it. The only thing he finds attractive is his own ego!"
Ken glanced back, violet eyes sparkling with the faintest of twinkles. "Not quite. There are other things I like." He turned ahead and kept on walking.
Adam's eyes flicked first to the proud young one ahead of them, then to the other who walked beside Carlos and himself. "If we're going to be together for a while, and it looks like we are, we should get to know each other a little. I'm Adam Park, and you probably heard the Worldwatcher say I'm an ex-Power Ranger."
"Daisuke Motomiya." The other boy held a hand out and they shook. "I guess the formal introducation would be Daisuke Motomiya, leader of the new Digidestined. What's a Power Ranger?"
Carlos raised one eyebrow. "Carlos Valerte, Black Space Ranger, and I've got a question of my own. What's a Digidestined?"
"A pain in the rear." Came from ahead of them again. Daisuke rolled his eyes as Ken paused just long to let them catch up. "As for me, I'm Ken Ichijouji, the Digimon Emperor, and his worst nightmare." His eyes rested lightly on Daisuke, who balled his fists up and glared at him.
"Oh, yeah, who knocked you on your rear in that soccer game, hm? That was me!" Daisuke's eyes locked on the purple ones of his enemy and felt for the first time how truly beautiful and rare they were. Kari. Kari. Kari...Ken...Kari...Oh, shut up!
Carlos and Adam glanced at each other. Whatever else these two might be in whatever battle they were involved in back in their world, there was a connection that bound them far stronger than that of enemy leaders. "So, Ken," Adam spoke to the younger boy. "The Worldwatcher said you were evil?"
"Oh, yes," He waved a hand casually. "Conquering an alternate universe, making various Digimon my slaves, you know, all the things I enjoy."
"Kidnapping me," Daisuke muttered it under his breath, and Ken's lips quirked just a little.
"Why ruin a perfectly good thing? I had you prisoner on your second trip to the Digiworld, and if it weren't for your silly friends, you'd be jumping to my every whim right now. Right after I ringed Veemon, I was going to ring you."
Anything Daisuke might've said was utterly lost in the growl of pure rage that emitted from his throat. Ken smirked back at him, obviously enjoying taunting him. "Yes, the rings do work on humans, I just haven't thought any of you were worth my time...except maybe you. Maybe. If there was nothing else for me to do."
Adam stepped up with his hands outstretched in a gesture of command and reconciliation combined. "Look, you two, whatever kind of rivalry or whatever you've got back where you came from, you're not where you came from now, so you're going to have to work together! We've got a job to do!"
"So, you're some kind of an expert at getting plucked out of your life and told you're going to do something for someone else?" Ken raised one eyebrow as he looked at Adam.
The ex-Ranger grinned. "As a matter of fact...yes." He glanced briefly around, they'd made a little progress, but the end of the path was nowhere in sight. "Come on, I'll tell you about it as we get moving. That first thing should be here somewhere, and the sooner we find it, and all the others, the sooner we get back home."
"Very true." Ken started walking again, his hands in his pockets. Good. He felt something in there and his lips thinned briefly. She can tell me she can give me my heart's desire all she wants, but this dark spiral is far more certain: and my heart's desire is about two feet to the left. Once I put this on him...he'll be mine forever.
Daisuke said nothing as he marched along. Ring me. He was going to ring me. He didn't let the chills that sent down his spine show. One thing he'd always prized was his free will, and at the thought of how close he'd came to having it stripped from him. Gotta get my mind off it. Wait...I know. He looked at Adam. "You said you knew how it felt to just get plucked out of your life?"
"Yeah." Adam nodded. "Want to know how it happened?" At Daisuke's nod, and Ken's barely lifted eyebrow {which he presumed indicated interest}, he cleared his throat a little. "Well, it would take too long to go into detail, but a few years ago, my two freinds Rocky, Aisha, and I met these people in the park. We already knew at the time that Power Rangers, these four guys and two girls in armored outfits, were keeping our planet safe from these alien invaders. What we didn't know was that the people we met were the Power Rangers.
"We found that out after my friends and I won a Ninja Competiton, and we were kidnapped by their enemy, Lord Zedd." Adam told how the Rangers, Jason, Kim, Trini, Zack, Billy, and Tommy, had managed to save the three of them, but in the process, their secret identities had been revealed to the newcomers. "We promised never to reveal who they were, and became their friends. A couple of months later, we transferred to their school just about the same time Jason, Zack, and Trini left to go to a Peace Conference." He chuckled a little. "Rocky took Trini's leaving really hard, they'd become pretty close after we all got to know each other. He tried to cover it by dating other girls while she was away...but I kept seeing those letters from Switzerland he was getting. And I was right, two days ago I got an e-mail: they're engaged!"
Carlos coughed a little. "I heard about that! Justin told me the last time I saw him."
Adam nodded, his eyes sparkling at how happy his friends were. "Well, to cut it short, when Trini, Zack,and Jason left, Rocky, Aisha, and I were picked to become Rangers in their place. They couldn't hold the Power and live in Switzerland too, and since we already knew about their secret, and were now in their same school, we got the job. It would take a while to tell everything that happened, but about a year and a half ago, not long after I got out of high school, our mentor told us it was time for us to move on with our lives. The team I was on then picked our successors: Carlos was mine. We gave our powers to them, and went back to being normal people."
Daisuke nodded slowly. "But just what are Power Rangers? I mean, obviously you fight evil, but..." He stopped, not having the words to convey what he wanted to ask.
"We're defenders. Guardians. Protectors." Carlos thought of how he'd heard it once described to himself. "We protect those who can't protect themselves from the forces of evil in the universe."
Ken snorted. "Great, just what I always wanted. Being forced to hang out with more do-gooders.
"Is he always in this good of a mood?" Carlos asked dryly. Daisuke shrugged.
"Don't ask me, I've never seen him be anything but a jerk."
"So now that you know what a Power Ranger is," Adam broke the brief silence that reigned after that, "Why don't you tell us what a Digidestined is, and why you don't like them, Ken?"
The Emperor shrugged casually. "Because I'm trying to conquer the Digiworld and they get in the way. They seem to think it's their job or something."
"It is." Daisuke said a bit tartly. "We were picked to stop people like you from taking over!" He glared for a moment at his enemy, then looked at the others. "I don't know everything that our predecessors went through, but a Digidestined is kinda like a Power Ranger, except we don't get superpowers. We have our Digimon. They're our partners and our best friends." His eyes landed once again on Ken, who appeared bored. "Some people would call them animals, but I don't. They're just people who happen to wear weird bodies. They're just as smart as people, and they can digivolve...change into more powerful creatures with special attacks and things to fight in battles."
He fished about in his pocket for a moment, then pulled out a strange looking device. "This is my Digivice. Ken has one too, only his works different from mine."
"And I appreciate it if you wouldn't go blabbing secrets to people we met under an hour ago." Ken retorted. "To put it rather simply, a normal Digidestined's Digivice helps their partner to digivolve, or armor-digivolve, as the case may be. My Digivice can stop the whole process."
"Except armor digivolving!"
It looked as if the two of them were about to get into another 'discussion', when the strange starfield around them melted away to reveal a barren and blasted landscape. Overhead was a blue sky with a sun that beat down like the wrath of a pantheon of gods, and not a single breath of wind to stir the dry, parched air.
Slowly the four looked around, and Carlos shuddered. "I do not like this place."
"Neither do I." That, amazingly, came from Ken, as for the first time he seem to almost be taking what they were doing seriously. He stepped back just a little, his posture and pose saying clearer than words that he was on guard for anything "The road appears to lead this way." His violet eyes flicked quickly up it and he frowned. "And unless I'm mistaken, which I never am, that is a village of some kind up there."
Adam glanced up that way and saw a wisp of thatch peeking from behind some boulders. "He's right. If the path leads that way, then one of the rings is there. Let's go find it."
It was a short trip to what turned out to be a small and rather pathetic looking village. A few people peered from their houses as the quartet walked by, but no one seemed to be that interested in them. The heat baked down on them all, and Ken shook his head. "By all the laws of nature, the thatch here should have burned up already. It's almost too hot to breathe!"
"We have preservative spells lain on all our homes, young stranger," a voice that wasn't any of theirs spoke up. Standing not too far from them, in the doorway of one of the houses, was an old white-haired man in a stained white robe. "It is the only way we survive in this land these days."
Adam glanced at him warily. He didn't look dangerous, but he had long since learned never to take things at face value. "And you are?"
"Alric, of this village. And you are?"
"Adam Park."
"Carlos Valerte."
"Daisuke Motomiya."
"Ken Ichijoji."
Alric nodded at each name. "You are not from around here, to judge by your strange garments. What are you doing here? We get few visitors around here, much less from as far away as you all must be."
"We're on a quest." Daisuke stated. Alric raised one eyebrow, obviously at someone so young speaking, but said nothing. "We're searching for a ring of some kind that should be in the area."
The old one shrugged briefly. "I know nothing of any rings or such things, we're too poor for ornaments."
Ken frowned. "We know it's here, however." The Emperor seldom trusted anyone or anything, but he knew he was going to have to trust the Worldwatch in this situation.
"Well..." Alric considered things. "Perhaps the witch will be able to help you. Though she hasn't been seen or heard from in quite a while. It's why this place is as dry as it is."
Carlos looked curious. "The witch?"
"She lives on top of the mountain," Alric gestured briefly down the road. "Normally because of her we have a perfect climate and our crops are growing nicely by this time of the year. But this year, we haven't heard from her at all, and the heat has increased so that what you've seen here is the result."
Daisuke's eyes widened. "That definitely sounds like something a Ring of Fire would cause. And that's my ring."
"If you want to talk to her, she lives down that way." Alric pointed down the pathway. "But she lives on top of the mountain, which makes it kind of hard to get to her."
Ken tilted his head slightly. "On top of the mountain? And just how large is this mountain?"
"Only a couple of thousand feet, but you don't have to climb it. Just find the door and go on up." He shrugged for a moment. "I'd tell you were the door was, but I haven't been up there in a while myself, so I'm not sure I remember." Alric turned back towards his hut. "If you find out what's going wrong, let the witch know we don't appreciate being left to roast like this."
As the four watched, he shut his door with a definite thump. Ken shrugged mentally, a faint smirk once again twisting his lips. So Daisuke gets the first ring. How...interesting. I think he and I should have a little ...chat...at the first opportunity. Someplace where these other two can't find us.
"Well, we're certainly not getting anything done standing around like this." Despite the heat, Daisuke was already charging down the road. Ken shook his head, glad for the first time he wasn't wearing his armored imperial garb. The school uniform was much cooler.
Carlos sighed deeply as he looked over to Adam. "Were we ever that young?"
"I don't even remember." Adam chuckled as the three of them headed off after the flame-haired young Digidestined. "Ken, you know him better than we do, is this what he's normally like?"
The Emperor chuckled. "Always. He is the Digidestined of Courage and Friendship, and is very impulsive." His voice turned soft for a moment. "It's the first thing I noticed about him. He always jumps ahead into a fight, no matter what the odds are. He's one of the all or nothing types..." His voice grew even softer, almost too low to be heard. "It's one of the things I admire about him."
Various other things that Ken admired about his enemy passed through his mind as he tracked Daisuke's vanishing body with his eyes. "We'd better catch up with him. He'll get himself into trouble on his own." Ken smirked. "He does that."
It didn't take all that long to get caught up with the other boy, who had stopped at a convenient patch of shade cast by a pile of rocks, and waited for them. Carlos gave him a semi-stern look. "I don't think it's a good idea for any of us to run off on our own like that. We don't know what could happen around here."
"No worse than anything that could happen in the Digiworld." Daisuke shrugged carelessly and Ken's smirk made one of it's appearances.
"But there you've got Veemon. Here all you have...is us."
The redhead gave his enemy a smirk of his own. "Hm, I get separated from Veemon and get you and two strangers. I think I got the short end of that deal."
Ken said nothing out loud, but one hand quietly fingered the dark spiral in his pocket. Your time will come, my pet. Your time will come.
The rest of the trip to the mountain only took a few more minutes, and soon the quartet stood in a row, staring up at a scientific impossibility. A smooth sided mountain, sides as polished as marble yet obviously natural stone, as symmetrical as a pyramid, and surmounted by what looked like a large, flat piece of rock reminiscient of a tabletop, rose high above them. Adam shook his head in shock.
"Billy would love to see this!" the ex-Ranger breathed. "Either that or go nuts because it defies every law of nature we've never know about!"
"I felt the same way when I saw Unimon for the first time." Ken mused. "I believe there should be a door around here somewhere."
Each of them split up and started to search around for anything that could resemble a door. Daisuke could feel a strange sort of energy running all through him as he looked up, down, behind things, around things, and in every possible corner for what might what they were hunting for. Why did I have to be picked for this? I've already had enough problems being a Digidestined! Though if it weren't for that, I don't know if I'd ever have the friends I do now.
Or the enemy, his subconscious nudged him. For a moment he let his thoughts dwell on the blue-haired, violet-eyed boy who had been dragged into this with him. I've never seen him like this before. Of course, the only times I've ever really seen him has been when we're fighting him, and that time on the soccer field. His mind tugged back to that fateful day and he trembled. Had nightmares for three weeks after that.
"Hey!" The voice was that of the older of the other two, Adam. "I found the door, guys! It's this way!"
Daisuke grinned and started back towards where the voice had come from. For a moment, the area he had been searching was silent, then the sound of grinding teeth briefly echoed. Blast it! I was about two seconds away from having him! Ken slid the Dark Spiral back into his pocket, then nodded briefly to himself. Better tonight....when everyone is asleep. Less chances of being interrupted. Now, let's go see if we can actually get part of this silly quest done. Going around another way, he headed back to where the group was regathering.
"Could we save the reminiscing until later?" Ken suggested. "We might not have a time limit, but I say the sooner we get done, the better." He slipped into the corridor, heading fearlessly forward.
"For once, I agree with him." Daisuke followed him, and was followed himself by the other two. Someone, no one ever knew who and whoever it was never confessed, squeaked as the door banged shut behind them and they were left in total darkness for one moment.
One moment, before torches flared all along the corridor, lighting the way ahead of them. Ken raised one eyebrow minutely. "Excellent service, I must look into finding out how they do that. I could use something like this around my own fortress."
"Anything would be an improvement. I must've stubbed my toes about ten times when you were dragging me along there." Daisuke shivered in memory. Ken's emperor outfit was suited to the chilly climate of his fortress, but no one else could ever be comfortable there.
Adam shook his head. "We can discuss decorating tips later, let's get moving."
The trip through the corridor wasn't all that long, and the other end of the passageway obviously had nothing blocking it, as could be plainly seen by the broad band of sunlight that spilled into it from the opposite end. As they stepped out into it, Ken's eyes flicked at once to the form that joined him in the next moment. Nice profile. It would look better kneeling before me, but even I can't have everything...yet.
"Whoa..." Daisuke glanced around and his eyes widened. "We're on top of the mountain!" Indeed they were, and the only structure in sight was a small hut similar to the ones they'd seen in the village below. A few faint wisps of smoke rose from it as they drew closer, and Daisuke could feel something in him throbbing with every step they took, something in a part of his soul he'd never been aware of until that moment. It must be the Ring. It's the one I'm supposed to guard, I just know it.
The redhead was moments from opening up the hut's door when a fierce, almost manic voice gibbered from inside. "Who are you? What are you doing here? You're too late to help her, she's already gone! What do you want? What do you want? What do you waaaannnt???"
From within there burst a small red-toned lizard-like creature, no bigger than an arm, with wings coming from it's back and eyes of burning fire. It's scales ran the gamut of red from palest pink nearly to black, and it gazed up at them almost savagely. "Who are you, who are you, who are you? You can't come in, I won't let you!" It hovered in front of them, wings flapping as it maintained it's position and stared at them.
"We're here on a quest for the Ring of Fire." Daisuke stepped forward ahead of the others. "We won't hurt anything, or anyone, we just want to take the ring and leave."
The creature looked piercingly up into Daisuke's eyes for a moment, then bounced a little. "You're from the Worldwatcher! The Worldwatcher! I know her! All elementals know her! Elementals are always near the Rings of the Four Winds! I'm an elemental! I'm the Salamandar! I was the companion of Seraye, the witch of this land! But now I'm not...she burned up and went away!"
Daisuke blinked just a little as he tried to forge his mental way through this. "Okay. Where's the ring now?"
"Inside, inside, inside!" the Salamandar chittered. "Only the Guardian of the Ring of Fire can touch it, though! Only it's proper guardian, known and named by the Worldwalker herself! I'm not the guardian...I'm just an elemental! Seraye wasn't the guardian, she was just a witch, but she used it, and she burned up and went away forever!"
Ken winced briefly. "Having to listen to that on a regular basis would drive nearly anyone to do anything to get away from it."
The creature appeared not to notice as it looked closer to Daisuke. "Are you the guardian, are you the guardian, are you the guardian? You are, I know you are, I can feel it in you! You're the Guardian of Fire, I can see the fire power in you!"
It landed behind Daisuke and started to push him into the house. "The Ring of Fire is in the ring of fire!" It told him. "The ring of fire! Cross it without fear, without fear of any kind, and the ring is yours! To guard and to keep til you give it back to the Worldwatcher! The Worldwatcher told you this, didn't she? I know she did, she had to, that's her job, your job is to guard it, mine's to guard you til you give it to her! She's the Worldwatcher! I'm an elemental!"
"We got that part already." Daisuke said a little dryly as he stepped closer to the house. "The rest of you stay out here, I think I can handle this."
"Wasn't that what you said before I showed up at the soccer game?" Ken wisecracked. Daisuke gave him a dirty look, then headed into the hut.
He thought it would be dark inside. Instead, it was exactly as the Salamandar had said: lit by a ring of fire. Or to be more exact, a wall of blue fire in the shape of a ring. Somewhere in the middle, when the fire bent a little, he could see something glinting red.
"Cross without fear, cross without fear!" the Salamandar chittered at him. "The ring is yours, you're it's guardian, cross without fear and take what's yours by gift!"
Daisuke stared at the burning wall. Oh, sure, he was brave, though some of it was foolhardiness, and he did carry the Digimental of Courage. But to go through fire? I don't think that was in the 'guide to being a Digidestined'.
Almost as soon as he thought that, he knew he was wrong though. Because there was one thing Tai had told him, and one thing he had learned through all the months since the Digivice had landed in his hands. You do what you have to do. No matter what. Sometimes it hurt...sometimes it didn't...
Giving up the hope of being with Kari hurt...but she and Miyako are so happy together now...I still remember the look on T.K.'s face when they said they were together... Daisuke felt his lips twitch into a smile at that. After everything that had happened with the Scubamon and whoever their undersea master was, T.K. had obviously been very certain that he and Kari were going to become boyfriend and girlfriend. But when he found out all she cared about him as was just a friend....I wonder if she knows that I was the one he came to that night? That he stayed with me that whole weekend and we just talked...for the first time since we met...we talked.
The two boys still kept up the facade of teasing now, but it was more of a joke than ever. Sometimes after school they even did their homework together. It certainly made the time go by faster with someone else to talk to about some of the more difficult things. T.K.'s a real nice guy. I hope he finds someone else soon.
Daisuke stared at the glittering ring visible through the fire. This wasn't the first time he'd been involved in a test like this. This time I'm not going to take forever. This is what I have to do: for the good of a lot of universes. Gritting his teeth, he leaped forward, ignoring the pain of the fire as it swept across his body. He landed very near a pile of ash, in the center of which was...
"The Ring of Fire...." Daisuke stared at it only for a moment before gingerly reaching out to touch it. The moment his fingers contacted it, the blue fire around him flared up, then faded away, as did the hut. He stood up, the ring clasped in one hand, and turned to see not just the Salamandar, but his questmates standing there looking at him.
Carlos smiled, looking at his hand. "You got it."
"About time you did something right." Ken's comment was of course, filled with sarcasm.
"Good work." That was Adam.
Daisuke held up the ring, his eyes widening slightly as the light fell through it, almost making it glow brightly. Then he slid it onto the first finger of his right hand. A shiver ran through him as he felt it settle there, a sensation going through him as if he had been incomplete until finding it. He looked at the others. "Let's go."
"Yeah, yeah, let's go!" The Salamandar flapped until it reached Daisuke's shoulder and perched there like some sort of weird ornament. "The village will let you stay there tonight, they'll be so glad that the rains have come again, they'll let you stay there until the path comes for the next ring!"
Daisuke tilted his head slightly to look at the creature. "Huh?"
"Look!" The Salamandar pointed a webbed hand/paw upwards, and as they all looked, as one, they gasped. Filling the sky were thick black clouds, with small streaks of lightning jumping from one point to another on them. It was very obviously time for a major storm. "Go back to the village, they'll let you stay, they'll let you stay now that the rains are falling!"
"Well, we don't have anywhere else to go." Carlos shrugged. "Let's go."
The Salamandar told Daisuke, "I'll be there when you wake up in the morning, gotta go find food, tell my friends I won't be around for a while, we're gonna stay together til you take the ring to the Worldwatcher, I'll stay with her, with her, with her!" The creature flapped up and down eagerly. "Elementals are the servants of the Worldwatcher, she is good and kind and wise and everything that is good! She protects, she defends, she loves everything!"
"All right," Daisuke chuckled, this thing's eagerness reminded him a lot of Veemon, with a lot more words. "I'll see you in the morning."
Ken and Daisuke were to share a hut, as were Carlos and Adam. Daisuke didn't exactly trust the blue-haired boy, but he didn't have that many choices at the time. He curled up on the pallet that was one of the two beds in there and closed his eyes, hearing Ken moving around a little on the opposite side of the hut.
"Are you planning on sleeping tonight?" he half-muttered. "I am, so I'd appreciate the quiet."
The other chuckled. "Just a moment." Daisuke heard footsteps coming a little closer, and turned curiously to see Ken standing over him. He was about to say something, when Ken shook his head and laid a finger on his lips for silence.
Ken smiled to himself as he dropped down next to Daisuke and whispered a quick spell that would not only hold the other boy in almost full stasis, but would ensure any questions the Emperor asked would be answered truthfully. Daisuke's eyes flew wide in shock, but he couldn't do anything as Ken smirked at him. "I had a reason for capturing you before we got suckere into this, Daisuke." The violet-eyed one purred into his companion's ear. "And I see no reason to stop just because we have been didetracked. In fact, it's more fun like this, because those other two will have no idea of what I'm doing, and your friends would recognize something will shortly be changing in you. Now, first of all: do you think I am attractive, yes, or no?"
The redhead struggled mentally for a moment, but a truthful answer was dragged out of him. "Yes."
Ken's smirk widened. "One point for you. You have good taste. Now, second of all: do you truly care for what's her name, Kari, in a romantic way?"
Once again Daisuke tried to stop himself from answering, but once again, he had to say the truth. "No."
"I didn't think so." Ken paced for a bit, then looked back at Daisuke. "Would you be willing to date me, regardless of if I am good or evil?"
Daisuke glared at him for a moment, but a third answer came out unwillingly. "Yes."
"Your taste gets better and better." Ken crouched down by him once again, and a black spiral glittered in his hand. "This is going to be fun for me, but I seriously doubt you're going to enjoy it." With a quick motion he flicked the spiral so it landed on Daisuke's upper arm, where it would be concealed by his vest when he put it on again in the morning.
Daisuke's eyes flashed scarlet for a moment, then settled back to their normal brown. "What do you wish of me, master?"
Ken allowed himself a moment to savor the sound of hearing that once again. "For now, act the same towards me as you have until now, unless I say otherwise. And tell them nothing of what has happened tonight, until I say you can. Understood?"
"Yes, master." Daisuke nodded and laid back down as Ken rose. The Digimon Emperor smiled cruelly as he closed the door behind himself. He had his heart's desire now: no quest required.
|