The darkness was upon him. He could feel it. It had been lurking in the corners of his mind for some time, but now... Now it has taken shape.
Wheezing hardly, Ken turned around a corner and dashed down the dark alley. But still, he couldn't escape his pursuers.
And then they appeared, black as a real shadow, with eerily gleaming eyes, twitching antennae and spindle-like fingers, they emerged out of the ground as if it was the surface of a lake.
"What do you want from me?" Ken cried. "Leave me alone! Haven't I already suffered enough?"
The strange creatures didn't respond with voices, but it seemed to Ken as if they would reply in the very innards of his body. He clutched his heart and winced in pain.
'Torturer... despot... murdered... you're evil. You did countless crimes.'
"No!" he shouted and backed off. "That was in the past. I'm not the Digimon Emperor anymore. They forgave me. I'm a Digidestined now, you hear me? A Digitestined..."
But his words couldn't hold them at bay, and then he was cornered... they approached him from every side.
"SPIKING STRIKE!"
Thrusting forward with the shining energy spike that emerged from his gauntlet, Ken's loyal Digimon partner Stingmon came descending from the sky and pierced one of the unknown monsters in the middle.
The being burst apart in a cloud of darkness, while something resembling a glittering heart rose up into the sky, where it vanished.
"Stingmon!" Ken gasped in relief. "You came..."
"Of course I came," Stingmon said. "You can always count on me, Ken!" He defended himself and his partner from the attack of another Shadow with a swift kick. "By the way, what are those creatures?"
"I don't know..." Ken muttered. "But every time they talk to me... I feel this stinging pain deep within my heart..."
"Talk?" Stingmon wondered and attacked two of the Shadows at once. "I don't hear them talking. You okay, Ken?"
He finished the last of them off with a final 'Spiking Strike'.
Ken glanced upwards, to where the glittering hearts of the Heartless vanished. "I don't know, Stingmon..." he whispered. "I just don't know..."
Unbeknown to them, the battle had been watched by a silent figure that was standing on top of a building. Hiding its face within a black hood, the mysterious figure watched the pair for a while, before retreating through a gate of darkness that appeared behind it...
----
"It's an invitation!" Sora said in excitement, the spiky-haired boy pumping his fist in the air, while showing the small piece of paper to his two best friends. "See?"
"That's right!" Kairi smiled. "An invitation to a royal ball, a big festival with visitors from many different worlds."
"Sounds like a big party, huh?" Riku said. The silent, white-haired boy snatched the paper away from his buddy. "Still, the king doesn't mention the fact that we are the guests of honor..."
"Huh? Why should he do that?" Sora wanted to know.
Riku shook his head while Kairi giggled. "Silly," the red-haired girl chuckled. "After all, you're the chosen wielder of the keyblade, right? And you two helped in defeating Ansem... uh, I mean Xehanort's Heartless, as well as the Organization XIII, and saved countless worlds. Doesn't that count?"
Sheepishly, Sora scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, well... Donald and Goofy helped a bunch too, you know? Well, it certainly sounds like fun... you wanna come too, Kairi?"
"What a stupid question! Of course I do! Or do you believe only you and Riku got an invitation? Besides..." She smirked. "I am one of the Seven Princesses of Heart, you know?"
"I really wonder if I could feel welcome at the party..." Riku sighed.
"Why do you think that?" Sora asked his friend, puzzled.
Riku turned around. "You know what I did under that Heartless' influence, right? I suppose not everyone could have forgiven me that easily, right?" He just had to think what he almost did to poor Pinocchio.
"Riku, quit speaking such rubbish," Kairi scolded him. "And remember that it wasn't you who did that, but that Ansem impostor."
The boy gave her a sad smile. "He couldn't have invaded my heart if I didn't let him in, correct?"
"That still doesn't mean you're to fault," Sora exclaimed. "True, one could argue that you did some stupid things... but did I hold a grudge against you? No. Because I know that you have a good heart. And the king thinks so as well."
"Not to forget Donald, Goofy and me," Kairi nodded. "So stop worrying about the past and think about your friends in the present. You're coming with us to that party and you're going to have fun there, understood?"
Riku stayed silent for a moment, then he chuckled. "Then I guess I have no choice but to do that, huh?"
He turned back around and grinned at his friends. "So, when's that Gummi Ship coming to pick us up?"
Sora grinned back. "That's more like it, pal! They wrote they will come the day after tomorrow, the day before the big festival starts."
He gave his two friends a hug left and right. "Man, I'm so looking forward to see everybody again... and I'll introduce you to my other friends."
Kairi laughed. "Well, I'm looking forward to it."
If they would only know that somewhere, in a world they had yet to explore, the darkness was gathering once again...
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(Posted Tue, 02 Jan 2007 14:06)
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