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Ken shouted out in pain as he hit the hot sand.
There was a crunching sound.
His arm felt numb.
Impossible.
He grit his teeth, glaring up at Wormmon, who was now riding on Airdramon’s head, and steering it closer to Chimeramon.
“Insect. You...” He hissed through his teeth.
He was still trying to keep himself from straight-up screaming in pain.
Then Chimeramon hit Wormmon off Airdramon, swatting at him like the insect he was.
And he hit the sand too, but not before giving his power to Magnamon.
He thought that was enough to defeat him.
Pathetic.
As Ken’s vision started to blur, he almost missed it.
Chimeramon faded away, like dust in the wind, like he’d never existed.
”Chimeramon,” Ken winced as he blinked his vision back into focus. “No...you...you insects, you’ll pay...”
Every word was strained, but he refused to pass out.
”I-It’ll be fine! See, i’ll just go back to the real world a-and reset the digital world! Yes...yes, i’ll still win.”
The Chosen Children stepped over to him, glaring down at him.
Stupid...he was humiliated, he couldn’t even stand up to meet their eyes.
”You think the digital world is just a game,” Takeru was the first to speak. Ken shuddered, feeling the pain of his fist slamming into his face again. “Don’t you?”
”Well, of course. It’s not like the Digimon are real.”
The insects’ faces twisted in disgust.
Wait...wait, wait, wait...
Demiveemon...
H-He was there...
At the soccer match that fateful day...
No...no, no, no, that...
That was ridiculous.
They weren’t...Digimon aren’t...
”They’re real.” He said in horror.
Daisuke nodded.
Ken’s heart pounded. His breaths got faster.
”N-N-No, no, no, no, no, so I...this whole time, I’ve been...”
A piercing scream finally escaped Ken’s throat, as he grabbed his goggles with his good arm and tossed them into the sand, where they disintegrated.
He stumbled backwards, until his arm gave out and he fell down a small sand dune.
He screamed again.
He would keep screaming.
He didn’t care about the sand in his mouth or on his clothes...
His clothes...the Digimon Kaiser clothes were gone.
The Digimon Kaiser...
What had he done...?
“Wormmon...” Takeru muttered.
Ken’s heart stopped.
Wormmon...he...
He managed to pull himself up, though he fought back another scream when he heard another crunch.
He frantically stumbled over the sand dunes until he collapsed in front of Wormmon.
”Wormmon...”
He softly cradled the small Digimon in his arms.
“You’re back to my Ken-chan...I’m so happy.”
Ken choked back a sob.
”Wormmon, I-I...”
”Goodbye, Ken-chan.”
And just like that, he was gone.
Faded, just like Chimeramon.
He was just gone.
Ken just stared at where the Digimon used to be in horror.
Then he screamed again.
More piercing than the last, a horrible, heartbreaking scream.
”WORMMON!!!!”
He let himself just fall into the sand. He didn’t need to hold himself up with his broken arm any longer.
His arm wasn’t the only thing that was broken.
Maybe...maybe the sand would just swallow him up.
Please, just swallow me up.
”Ichijouji...” Daisuke’s voice broke the silence. It was the softest he’d ever spoken to Ken.
Ken didn’t deserve to be spoken to softly.
He deserved all the pain in the world. His broken arm, for Takeru to punch him again, hit him with that awful whip too, then he’d know what it felt like.
“Please don’t speak to me so kindly, Motomiya-san.”
His voice was so hoarse and dry.
He was in the desert after all. And he’d never screamed so loud in his life.
Well...maybe once...
”What do you mean, don’t speak to you so kindly? You just lost-”
Ken screamed again.
Anything to stop Daisuke from saying his Digimon was dead.
“Let us help you. We can at least get you a doctor or something for your arm...”
”Why would you do that? I deserve all the pain and more.”
“Ichijouji-san...”
”No. Please, no ‘san.’ Just Ichijouji. I don’t deserve honorifics.”
Daisuke let out a barely audible sigh.
”Ichijouji,” Iori began. He was more than happy to oblige with the ‘no honorifics’ thing. “What are you going to do now? Because if you intend to hurt more Digimon...”
”No...I...I don’t. I guess I...I’ll go back to the real...to earth.”
“And?”
”Well, I...I don’t want them to put me on the news anymore...m-maybe i’ll tell my parents that...”
Daisuke slowly walked over to Ken, wrapping his arm around the other boy to steady him.
”M-Motomiya-san, what are you doing?”
”Helping you. I know you don’t want it, but there’s no way you could’ve gotten up without my help and I didn’t want to watch you beat yourself up trying.”
Just looking at the other boy, Ken knew there was nothing he could do to change his mind.
He was Motomiya Daisuke, after all...he was determined.
”I can walk you home if you need-”
”Motomiya-san, please. I’ll be fine. And even if I wasn’t...” He paused. He wasn’t sure exactly what he meant to say next. “The...the world would go on.”
”Ichijouji-”
”Please. Stop. Just...stop. I-I can’t...I...I don’t deserve your kindness, just...stop.”
”...Ken-chan-”
”STOP!!!” Ken put his hands over his ears and shrieked at the top of his lungs.
He imagined that...Wormmon wasn’t here...Wormmon was dead...
”...okay,” Daisuke finally let go of Ken. “I’ll stop.”
Ken stumbled through the desert.
He couldn’t look back at the Chosen Children, and definitely not the Digimon, he would be sick to his stomach.
Wormmon...
”I’m so sorry...”