Chapter Text
Ken smirked as he double-checked the straps securing his prisoner to the infirmary bed. The blonde-haired boy was unconscious, head tilted slightly to the side giving Ken a good view of the bruise blossoming on his cheek. The bruise matched similar ones on the boy’s back and ribs, and the right side of his body was covered in scrapes and scratches from the crash landing that had led to his capture.
Stepping back, Ken called up a keyboard with a gesture, and initiated a scan of his prisoner’s body. Nothing seemed to be broken, and he had no major wounds, but Ken had learned that humans didn’t heal as quickly as Digimon did in this world. It was odd, he thought, considering that humans had to be turned into data just to enter the Digital World. What caused them to be turned back into flesh and blood, and did that affect their DNA in any way?
Probably not, he concluded as the scan ended and the detailed results appeared. He had been going in and out of the Digital World for a while now with no ill effects, and the foolish Chosen who were fighting him seemed fine from what he could tell. His prisoner began to stir, so Ken dismissed the scan and watched as the helpless Chosen Child awoke.
“Wha…? What happened?” he mumbled groggily a few seconds later, blinking slowly and squinting as he tried to focus.
“Your noble steed fell in battle and you were both captured,” Ken said, smirking as his prisoner whipped his head to the side to glare at him. Oh yes, he was going to enjoy playing with this one. Out of the whole group, he seemed to hate Ken the most.
“Where’s Patamon?” the blonde shot back, blue eyes alight with fury.
Ken waved a hand dismissively. “In a cell, awaiting my call, like all my other slaves.”
Terror replaced fury as the boy paled, recoiling against the bed. “N-No! You d-didn’t…!”
“Of course I put an Evil Ring on it. Your precious partner’s no good to me otherwise,” Ken replied, smirk widening into a smile at his prisoner’s horrified expression.
“You’re a monster!”
“And you’re a child if that’s the worst insult you can come up with,” Ken replied with a roll of his eyes, even though his prisoner probably couldn’t see it though his tinted glasses. The boy was trembling, although he couldn’t tell if it was from rage or fear.
“Where are the others?” the boy asked in a choked voice at last.
“Gone,” Ken said, looking away and adjusting his cloak. “They ran away and left you-”
“Never! They would never leave me like that!” his prisoner burst out, and Ken narrowed his eyes at the interruption.
“-left you like the cowards they are,” he finished smoothly. Granted, Ken had flooded the area with slaves in order to force them to retreat, but the Chosen had fled nonetheless.
“What did you do to them?”
“Nothing,” Ken said snapped his patience starting to run out. When his prisoner took a breath, looking like he was about to argue, Ken stepped closer to the bed and glared down at the boy. “I think you misunderstand the situation,” he said, voice low and menacing.
The blonde had enough sense to keep quiet, and Ken continued. “You are my prisoner. My. Prisoner. That means no arguing. No disobedience. You will follow my commands to the letter. Otherwise you will be punished.”
“I’d rather die than listen to you!”
Ken gritted his teeth, but kept from snapping back. Arrogance had lost him his first prisoner a few weeks ago, and Ken never made the same mistake twice. Better to treat his prisoner like the foolish child he was than get into a shouting match.
“Very well. I was going to treat your bruises and let you have a comfy bed for the night, but since you insist, you shall remain here until morning. Ogremon!” The two hulking creatures entered at his call, and he turned to them. “Guard him. Tend to his bodily needs as you see fit,” he ordered with a sneer. He would deny his prisoner food, but not water or a bathroom - he’d adjust the Ogremon’s orders once back in his control room.
The two slaves nodded and settled on either side of the door as Ken left the room, leaving his prisoner to sulk for the night.
- - -
Takeru shifted on the uncomfortable bed and opened his eyes, staring angrily at the ceiling. He’d never believe that Daisuke and the others would just leave him behind to be caught by the Kaiser. Something must have happened to them. Were they hurt? Were they being held in their own rooms like he was? Worry gnawed at his stomach, and he twisted, tugging at the straps that held him down.
Could he risk an escape attempt? It seemed to be late enough that the Kaiser was probably asleep, or possibly back in the Real World if he cared enough not to worry his parents. Takeru swallowed hard, realizing that his mother probably thought he was staying with Yamato for the night. If he didn’t return home soon, she’d start to worry.
Yamato would already be worried, since there was no way Hikari would keep the news from him. He’d definitely want to rush in and try and rescue his little brother. But was that even possible? Even if Gabumon and the others could reach their Adult forms now, they weren’t strong enough to fight the Kaiser’s enslaved Digimon. They could go for the Dark Towers, but it would be a hard fight until they brought the Tower down. And that left fighting the Kaiser’s army to Daisuke, Hikari, Miyako and Iori. Sure, the four Armor Digimon could destroy the Evil Rings, but they no doubt would be heavily outnumbered. And that was just for one sector! The Chosen would be fighting blind, hoping to hit the spot where Takeru was being held.
Glancing at the two Orgemon who guarded the door, he considered his options. He wasn’t strong enough to take even one of them in a head on fight, but if he was fast enough, he could slip by them…
“Excuse me,” he called, deciding to take the risk. “I need to use the bathroom.”
The Ogremon closest to him shifted and lumbered over, red eyes fixed on Takeru. “Make it quick,” he rumbled, undoing the straps that held Takeru to the bed. Takeru sat up slowly, wincing as his bruises protested, but stood and let the Ogremon grasp his shoulder and lead him to a door opposite his bed.
Quickly estimating the distance between the bathroom and the remaining guard, he entered the bathroom and closed the door behind him. The door had no lock, so Takeru remained on his guard as he relieved himself and washed his hands. His plan was vague, and Yamato was likely to yell at him if he ever learned of the details, but it was better than nothing.
Grabbing the hand towel, he waited until the Oremon knocked on the door with a growled “Hurry up!” before flinging the door open as hard as he could. To his delight, it struck the Ogremon square in the face, and the Digimon stumbled back in surprise. Darting by his guard while they were momentarily stunned, Takeru put his athleticism to good use and dashed towards the remaining Ogremon.
“Stop!” the enslaved Digimon cried, stepping into his path and trying to use their size to block his way. A flick of the wrist sent the hand towel over the Ogremon’s eyes, and Takeru ducked under the outreached arm and out the door, which opened as he approached.
Design flaw, he thought gleefully as he heard both Ogremon roar and start to give chase. Making a split-second decision, he went right and bolted down the hallway. Several doors lined each side, but since he had no idea where they went, he ignored them.
Racing down the hall, he was greeted with the sight of an elevator. Too slow, he decided, looking around for another route. Aware of pounding footsteps behind him, Takeru spotted a door next to the elevator, different in shape and colour than the others. Opening it, he sighed in relief as he found a stairwell, stairs extending both up and down. He took a breath, then headed up the steps, figuring it was better to go up than down in a case like this.
A thud and a commotion below him had him smiling, and by the shouting, he learned that the two Ogremon had both tried to go through the door at the same time and had promptly gotten stuck.
Takeru continued to climb, ignoring the pain along the right side of his body and the burn starting in his legs. He wished he could look for Daisuke and the others, but he had no idea if they were being held here, and even if they were, he had no time to spare. He made it up several flights of stairs before he heard thundering footsteps start to come from above and inwardly groaned. The rest of the Kaiser’s security were smarter than his two Ogremon guards, apparently.
Exiting the stairwell on the next floor, Takeru made it down the hall and around the nearest corner before skidding to a halt, eyes wide. Facing him was a humanoid Digimon dressed in red samurai armour, sword drawn. “Halt, prisoner,” it said, its baritone voice still menacing even with the monotone it spoke in due to the Evil Ring’s influence.
Takeru was wondering if it was too late to retreat and try the stairs again when electricity crackled behind him. Pain seared through his back as his limbs seized up, and his vision faded to black as he toppled towards the floor.
- - -
Ken had just changed into his pajamas when his Digivice beeped twice, a signal from Wormmon that something had happened. He scowled at it, but turned to his computer and booted it up, snagging a pair of headphones and slipping them on so that his useless partner’s voice wouldn’t disturb his parents.
“This better be important!” he hissed once the video link to his base was open. He doubted the Chosen would stage and attack this late at night, since they didn’t seem to have a personal link to the Digital World like he did. So that meant it was something involving his prisoner.
“S-Sorry, Ken-chan!” his partner whined, and he glared at the creature until it said in a rush, “The prisoner slipped past his guards and got up several floors to the research division before a Musyamon and Gazimon stopped him.”
“Did he now?” Ken said slowly, tapping a finger on the desk as he thought. “Did he enter any of the labs?”
“No, he remained in the hallway.”
That was good news, at least. Some of his experiments would probably anger the boy even more than he already was. “Was he injured?”
“A burn on his back from Gazimon’s electrical attack, and a bump on his forehead from where his head hit the floor after he was paralyzed. He’s back in the infirmary under increased guard,” his partner said, glancing off to the side to check another screen. “He seems to be asleep at the moment.”
Asleep could be bad, if the prisoner had suffered a concussion. “Run some scans to make sure he doesn’t have any head injuries, then sedate him and have one of the slaves with medical training tend to his wounds.”
“Right away, Ken-chan!”
“Don’t call me that!” he growled, then closed the link and shut down his computer. A glance at the clock showed that it was nearly midnight, and he had school in the morning, as well as a chess tournament to attend in the afternoon. Grumbling about the nuisance that was his life in this world, Ken went to bed.