Digimon Adventure Chronicles II: Secrets Revealed

...chapter TWELVE ~ Repercussions of Actions Past

Ken pulled himself up from the grass slowly and closed his eyes in an attempt to register what had just occurred. Memories of a grieving child flashed violently through his mind. He forced his eyes open and stared wildly at Vamdemon's unbreathing form. His mouth opened in an attempt to speak but his voice failed him, allowing himself to emit only a whisper of “...no...” He repeated the word over and over, voice rising and falling like a haunting melody.

Angemon too was frozen in place, unable to move or tear his eyes off of the body. He fought with himself whether to remain or to run inside and retrieve Mimi. A distraught look Ken sent in his directions said clearly to do the latter.

Ken was finally able to stand as the angel disappeared inside. He remained in that place for a few moments before he dragged himself forwards, Wormmon scurrying across the ground beside him. When he reached Vamdemon he fell to his knees and let out a cry of raw emotion before tears erupted from his eyes. He had been in this very situation before, and he knew with a grisly understanding that it should have been him lying on the ground, dead or dying.

Wormmon watched wordlessly as Ken sobbed without control and jumped in shock as Vamdemon drew in a sudden breath in conjunction with a fat tear landing on his cheek. Soon thereafter he opened his eyes weakly to stare upwards at the distraught boy.

Now it was Ken that appeared to have stopped breathing. A look of grief lingered on his face as he gazed disbelievingly at the figure beneath him. His stillness passed as he threw his arms around Vamdemon, pulling him into a tight embrace that he did not register wasn't fought against. A few new words were added to his vocabulary as he wailed in a tone different than before.

A small group of people had gathered around them, including the woman who had lost control of the vehicle. She too had tears in her eyes. Ken turned his head to look at her, glaring angrily. The emotion waned quickly when she averted her gaze, and Ken found himself feeling guilty as he realized she hadn't intentionally try to harm them.

Ken pulled away slightly and looked down at Vamdemon, whose piercing blue eyes gazed weakly at his own.

“Do not waste your tears on me, child.” Vamdemon said weakly. His voice was strained but the message he conveyed was clear. “Save them for someone more deserving.”

Ken shook his head and wiped nervously at his eyes. “You saved my life.” He said hoarsely. “I can't think of anyone who could possibly be more deserving than you...”

“I tried once to take it.” Vamdemon said intentionally low so that the onlookers would not hear.

Ken paused and let out a sigh of slight uncertainty. “That's in the past now... What's done is done, and there's little point in dwelling on it. Doing so will only cause more pain and suffering for everyone. I know these statements to be true from my own experiences.” He paused, analyzing Vamdemon's tortured expression. “The best thing to do is move on, and use one's past deeds as a stepping stool to better yourself. Your action just now has more than redeemed yourself in my eyes.”

Vamdemon smiled slightly and sat up with Ken's help. The woman pushed her way forwards to the front of the crowd and stood trembling before the boys on the ground.

“I called the police...” She said, voice as shaky as her body. “Are you hurt.?”

“Somehow, no...” Vamdemon said, staring intently at the woman. “No more so than I already was.”

“I'm so sorry.” She mumbled as a wave of fresh tears traveled down her face. “I thought I-”

“Don't be.” Vamdemon said, voice unintentionally harsh as he prevented her from finishing her sentence. He corrected his tone. “It wasn't your fault. Accidents are just that...” Ken nodded hesitantly as the sound of a siren was heard in the distance. Within a minute a patrol car pulled up. A portly man stepped out and waved a portion of the onlookers away. Without so much as a glance towards the pair on the ground he approached the woman and began questioning her.

The doors at the building were thrown open as Angemon and Mimi exited. They ran to them, both surprised to see that Vamdemon was sitting up and breathing.

“He's alright..?” She asked tentatively, a clear indication of worry present in her voice.

“I think so.” Ken said, still looking at Vamdemon's face.

“A miracle...” She whispered. “He could have died...”

Vamdemon tore his gaze from the woman and set it on Mimi. “I should have. I deserve to-”
of vision once more to Ken.

The officer appeared to have finished interrogating the woman. He approached the five of them with a small clipboard in his hand.

“Did any of you see the vehicle coming?” He asked. His voice was hard and accusing.

“I did.” Vamdemon said, not meeting his gaze. The officer marked a few lines onto the clip board.

“And which one of you was struck?”

“I was.” Vamdemon answered once more, unhappy with the interrogation. The officer gave him a critical look.

“Did you make any effort to avoid the vehicle?”

Vamdemon sent the officer a venomous glare, which was marked onto the notepad as well. “Sir,” Ken interjected, “He saw the car coming and pushed me out of the way.”

“I see.” The officer said slowly. “So you purposefully jumped in front of the vehicle.”

“Yes.” Vamdemon's voice held a high degree of anger. Ken strengthened his grip in case the emotion grew even greater. Once again a mark was made upon the paper in the officer's hand.

“That is all I need to know.” He said and pulled the paper he was writing on off the clip board. “Now... this is separate to the event at hand...your appearance as well as...attitude...matches that of a suspect in an attack made upon a construction worker earlier today. I am going to have to take you in for questioning on this matter.”

“No!” Vamdemon growled and jerked forward. Ken's grip prevented him from going anywhere. “I didn't attack him, it was the other way around!”

“So you admit that you were involved in the incident?”

“Yes, but-”

“Then I need to take you in for further questioning.” The officer said, voice slightly darker than before. He reached for a pair of cuffs on his belt.

“You will do no such thing.” Angemon said clearly, voice full with an anger that almost rivaled Vamdemon's. The officer gave him a disapproving look.

“I'm afraid you don't have any say in the matter, Sir, unless of course you'd like to be charged with impeding justice-”

Angemon glared at him. “But I'm afraid, Officer, that I do have a say in the matter. Are you are aware of the agreement the chosen children have with the police force in the area around here?”

“I certainly do, but that hardly relates to the matter at hand.”

“But it does, Officer, it does. You see, I am the partner of the child of hope, and-”

“Partner or not, this man on the ground is clearly not a monster!” The office said and sent a disbelieving look towards Angemon.

“The man on the ground is Myotismon.” Angemon said darkly. “The digimon that invaded this planet a few years ago. Surely you remember?”

“I do, but-”

“That is the reason why he was unharmed in the incident at hand. As a digimon, a human made object such as a car would have very little effect upon him, and since he is a digimon, you have absolutely no right to apprehend him when he is already in the custody of a force of justice far greater and far more qualified to maintain him than your own.”

The officer stared at him wildly, opening and closing his mouth numerous times in attempts to express his rage. “What proof do you have of your claims?”

Vamdemon bared his teeth, revealing his abnormal canines. “Fine.” The officer said, the slightest hint of fear entering his voice.

“Now go.” Angemon ordered. “You have a job to do.”

The officer narrowed his eyes but turned on his heels and headed back to the woman, whose mouth was hanging open in disbelief. He handed her a slip of paper, then spoke. “If what they claim is true, then you have nothing to worry about, ma'am. You would have done the world a favor had he died.” He stepped into the car, and drove off.

The remaining crowd had backed off a few steps, looks of horror etched upon their faces. A few took off running while others retreated slowly. Only the woman remained.

“Is what you said true...” She whispered fearfully. Her left hand rose and was placed on a spot at the side of her neck. “Is that really him...Myotismon...”

“Yes...” Angemon said with both frustration and unease at the woman's reaction.

“How ironic.” Vamdemon muttered darkly and would not meet her gaze.

“I don't know what to feel...” She said quietly. “I still have nightmares about that time...”

“I'm told that often.” He said and frowned. “But what I did to you was not so terrible.”

“You left me to die!” She said loudly. Ken cringed. Vamdemon looked at her once more, this time with a harsh glare.

“No!” He said, louder than her. “I left no one to die, and the only human I intended to meet that fate was the child of light! I drank what I required and left you to live on. You see, I need not and do not kill my prey, unlike your species which slaughters thousands of creatures each day to satiate your appetite for flesh.”

She stared at him wildly, then softened her gaze. He hand dropped to her side once more. “You saved that boy...”

“I did.” He stated. There was a hint of awe in his voice, as if he could barely believe that he had done it himself.

“I think that I can rest easier with that knowledge...” She said breathlessly and turned around.
“I think I should go now.” She headed back to the car, only glancing back once. She drove off slowly.

Angemon helped Ken pull Vamdemon to his feet and guided him to the doors.

“That was really close...” Mimi said. “Of all the people out there that could have been the driver it was one of his victims... And that cop...”

“Yes...” Angemon said. “We're very lucky that not everything about him has changed or we would have lost him.”

“Ken...are you alright?” Mimi asked. “It must be difficult for you...”

He was silent for a few seconds. “I'm fine. I spent far too long dwelling on it last time, and the result was that I was swayed by the powers of darkness... I won't make that mistake again. I'm ready to move on.”

~ Authors Notice ~

Yeah, I hate cops... Can you tell?

As always, read and review please. I've set up little forum things in case anyone wants to talk about the stories or digimon in general. I think you can get there from my profile.